


Phoenix's New Fiancee and other short stories

by MorenoX25



Series: Infinite Time Loops [2]
Category: Ranma 1/2, 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Parody
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-27
Updated: 2016-09-27
Packaged: 2018-08-18 06:04:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8151655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorenoX25/pseuds/MorenoX25
Summary: Phoenix Wright never expected that winning a court battle would mean he was also winning a new fiancee as well. Please read the Author's Note at the top.





	1. Phoenix's New Fiancee.

**Author's Note:**

> The following stories/snippets were written a couple of years ago for the Ace Attorney Loops compiled by OathToOblivion, but they were never posted. So instead of letting them go to waste I decided to post them on my own, but they will be considered non-canon to OathToOblivion's compilation which I highly recommend reading if you want some weird and funny AA stories/snippets.
> 
> Also if you aren't aware what the "Infinite Loops" are, then let me borrow the explanation from TvTropes:
> 
> The Infinite Loops, also known as the Innortal-style Time Loops, are an ever-expanding genre of Time Loop fanfics.
> 
> The premise is that something has happened to Yggdrasil, the World Tree computer that contains and runs the multiverse. As a result, the various universes have been put in 'safe mode', time-looping until Yggdrasil can be repaired. Each universe's loop is maintained by the presence of an Anchor, a core person from that loop who is the first to notice their universe is looping. There is always an Anchor in a repairs to Yggdrasil continue, more people in each universe begin Looping as well, but are not necessarily aware participants in every Loop; only the Anchor is so blessed... or cursed. Your mileage may vary. Characters that are aware of the Loops and retain memories of their previous go-arounds are termed "Awake".In addition, Fused Loops allow Loopers from different universes to interact. As a given, Loopers are tremendously stir-crazy due to the loops. Hilarity usually ensues.

Things were going smoothly for Phoenix Wright in this particular Loop; he had prevented Mia's death at the hands of Red White and helped stop and prevent some of the crimes he knew were coming before they happened. Still, unexpected things always happened and with the variations of the Loops, Phoenix ended up investigating new crimes and defending new clients.

This last case, as always, it was a murder case, and everything looked hopeless for the defendant, since all the evidence pointed towards him as a killer and the prosecutor in charge was none other than Franziska Von Karma.

But in the end Phoenix Wright pulled thru and got that 'Not Guilty Verdict' for his client.

Phoenix sighed as he once again defeated Franziska von Karma for the 'first time', and by the look on her face, she hasn't taking the news very well. But instead of throwing the word 'fool' over and over again and him threaten him with her bullwhip, she just turned around and left quietly.

A very strange reaction for the prideful daughter of von Karma.

As Phoenix exited the courthouse ready to go back to his office, a figured stepped in front of him blocking his path.

"M-M-Miss von Karma!" Phoenix stuttered in surprise.

"Phoenix Wright I need to have a word with you!" She demanded with whip in hand.

"Y-Yes…?" No matter how many times he had looped, no matter what situation he found himself in, no matter how many monsters he fought off inside or outside the court, he would always be on edge when dealing with Franziska von Karma.

All those whip lashes left more emotional scars than bruises.

"I still can't believe a foolish fool like you could ever best me in court!" Franziska said gripping her bull whip ever so tightly. "To be defeated by such an amateur!"

' _Hey! I'm no amateur, I've over 5000 cases of experience!_ ' Not that she or everyone else around would know, since none were aware of the Time Loops in which he was trapped.

"Of all the foolish people in the world, why did it have to be one so foolish?!" Franziska continued as she took a step forward getting closer to Phoenix.

Phoenix instincly took a step backwards which prompted the prosecutor to take another step forward, which made Phoenix to take a step backwards and so on and so forth until Phoenix'x backside was against a wall.

"You…you…" She gripped her bullwhip tighter and tighter.

' _Oh no, here it comes!_ ' Phoenix closed his eyes expecting to be hit any second now, but to his surprise none ever came.

Instead, Franziska placed her hands around Phoenix's head and brought it towards her to plant a kiss on his sheer ridiculousness and improbability of such an event caused poor Phoenix's brain to froze and then show the blue screen saying that an error had occur and that the system needed to be rebooted.

"There! It is done!" A red faced Franziska said after she retired her lips from Phoenix's. "Now please take responsibility!"

"Done..? Responsibility…?" The confused Phoenix repeated still dazzled by the critical error in his brain.

"Yes, since we are to be wed." She pointed out as a simple matter-of-fact.

"Wait! What? Why?" What was going on?!

"It's because of my vow!" She explained. "When I was little I made a vow that I would wed and devote myself as a woman to the first man to ever defeat me fairly in a court battle!"

"Devote as a woman…?" Then finally his brain caught on to what the prosecutor was saying and blushed while entering in a small panic. "Wait! Hold On! I..I..mean…Isn't it a little excessive?! I mean…"

"Speak properly you fool!" Franziska chastise him by whipping the floor which cause Phoenix to flinch and shut up. "Now, despite our engagement, I still think you aren't worthy enough to stand as my equal in the altar. So from now on I shall train you into the perfect husband! A von Karma deserves nothing but the best after all."

"But…I…" Phoenix tried to protest but Franziska was having not of it.

"Silence. You shall speak only when directly spoken to!" She whipped the wall next to his face to emphasize her point. "Now come and take me on our first official date as a couple!" The she locked arms with him and dragged him away.

'Just what the heck is going on with this Loop!?' Phoenix cried silent tears.

* * *

"I'm afraid I can't help you Phoenix." Mia Fey, Phoenix's boss and friend Chief said with a sigh, "What she is doing is perfectly legal." She hated being the barer of bad news but that was how things were.

"What?! How can that be?!" Phoenix asked horrified, all he asked was for help to put up a restraining order. "What Franziska is doing is clearly harassment!"

"Calm down Phoenix!" Mia said firmly, and after her protégée finally calmed down a bit, she continued. "Look, I did some digging around and found out about an ancient Chinese law that clearly states that what Franziska is doing is perfectly legal."

"But we aren't in China!" Phoenix protested! Clearly they were in America!

"Well…apparently with the current state of the economy and booming cultural imports from Asian countries like China and Japan from the past decade; some of their cultural laws had been approved by the court is states with heavy Asian population, one of them been California."

"But…but…Franziska isn't Chinese!" Phoenix pointed out, surely the cultural law couldn't be applied to her.

"That's another thing I investigated, and it turns out Franziska is 1/32 Chinese, and her ancestor turned out to be part of a tribe known as Nǚjié zú, commonly known as the Chinese Amazons. So the cultural law applies to her." And boy, it had been hard looking all that up.

"That's…that's…" Phoenix had heard of something like that before! Yes, the Joketsuzoku from a Ranma fused Loop he had a while back. So that means that this strange turn of events was because he was living in a pseudo-fusion with Ranma's Loop.

"I know it is difficult to accept Phoenix, but worry not, I'll try to find I way to help you." Mia tried to reassure him. "You are my apprentice after all!

"Thanks Mia." He thanked her but he knew about 'Amazon' Law. There weren't any exploitable loopholes. The only way he could get out of this was if he died or sired a child and gave it away as compensation. None of them were a viable option for him since the World Tree  
Yggdrasil, the supercomputer that run the multiverse, prevented him for conceiving a child. A rule applied by the gods to prevent Looper's grief of losing a children left and right.

"Come on Phoenix, don't look so down!"Mia tried to think about something else to say "Besides, how bad can Franziska really be?"

"She visited my apartment last night." Phoenix said gloomly. "Then she made me rearrange all the furniture claiming they weren't arranged as efficiently as they could; then she proceeded to threw away everything she said were taking unnecessary space; and finally emptied my fridge and cabinets of all the things that were deemed too unhealthy for me."

"Ouch." Mia winced, that was all she could say.

So Phoenix continued to live his life with Franziska constantly pestering him about how he needed to be perfect and all that nonsense, and for many nights he pondered while in bed if he just should say "screw this!" and run away. He could do many things to get away with it too, like transforming into Kamen Rider Eternal, get out of the country and make sure the Amazon Prosecutor never found him. But Phoenix was a firm believer that running away from problems didn't solve them; they just made it worse not only for him but the people he cared about too.

So he continued with the charade. At least for now.

Currently Phoenix was at the office with an 'unawake' Maya by his side. Even after he prevented Mia's death and therefore he didn't ended up defending Maya in court, the young spirit medium had taking a liking to him and served as his assistance from time to time claiming she wanted to see how Mia's and Phoenix's lives were like as lawyers.

Despite her eccentric behavior she was fun to have around and a good friend. Besides, if she had been awake, Phoenix was sure she would just spent the whole loop teasing him and probably making this whole situation with Franziska worse for him by trying to 'help' either side.

Phoenix was finishing some paperwork from a case he had yesterday while Maya was watching television, probably a re-run of the Steel Samurai. One thing he had to admit, because of his 'engagement' he never had to face Franziska in court since it would create a 'Conflict of Interest.' So his court cases weren't as stressful as they had been before. Still it was a small good thing compared to all the stuff he had to put up with.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Phoenix still a little busy, looked up from his papers and looked at Maya. "Could you please answer the door, Maya?"

"Okay!" Since her show was on commercial break she had no objections at all. Maya, then opened the door and greeted their visitor. "Welcome to Fey & Co. Law Offices! Defending you like it's nuttin' baby!"She used that silly slogan she had come up for her sister's business. Mia said she liked it, but Phoenix honestly thought it needed to be revised.

"What a foolish slogan, you need to have it revised!" The person outside the door said, startling Phoenix. "Or are you trying to appeal to the elementary school demographic?" That voice! It could only belong to…

"Franziska!?" Phoenix exclaimed as he got up from his desk. "What are you doing here?!"

"Do I need a reason to visit my future husband at his work?" Franziska walked past Maya not even giving her a second glance and make her way towards him.

' _No. But with you there is ALWAYS a reason!_ '

"I came here to talk about that last case you had." Franziska said calmly enough before busting out her bull whip and deliver several strikes unto Phoenix's desk "What a poor performance! Do you call that defending?"

"B-But I won!" Phoenix pointed out.

"Yes. But you could have done better!" The prosecutor continued with her whipping. "Despite being a Defense Attorney, I expect you to win and in the most dignified and efficient manner possible! As a future husband of von Karma, you need to be the best, I expect no less!"

"Wait just a second!" Maya intervened with a shout. "You can't treat Nick that way!"Stopping her barrage, Franziska turn her head to look at Maya for just a second, before turning back to look at Phoenix.

"Who is this girl, Phoenix Wright? And why does she calls you in such a familiar manner." She demanded in an uncharacteristically low tone. His mind sent Phoenix a danger alert so he tried to avert a 'situation'.

"This is Maya! Maya Fey, my boss' little sister, a friend of mine and occasional assistant." He hope that was enough for Franziska not to jump to some wild conclusion about Maya.

"Funny. You have never mentioned her before."

' _I would if you didn't try to whip me every time I open my mouth_!'

"Hey! Don't act like I'm not even here!" Maya complained as she stepped closer to the whip wielding prosecutor.

' _Maya! What are doing? You are gonna get yourself whipped into a coma_!'

Then the whip lashed out and almost hit his face. "You disappoint me Phoenix Wright. I expected better from you! As a future husband of von Karma you should be able to handle your cases alone without any aid or assistance!"

" **Hold it!** You always have the help of the police in your cases!" Phoenix pointed out only to have his index finger whipped. "Ouch."

"Foolish Fool! I do not have the police 'assisting me'; I'm the one in charge of the investigations, so they are an extension of my reach."

' _That still sounds as you getting their help!_ '

"Hey! Stop ignoring me and stop treating Nick this way!" Maya once again shouted to get Franziska's attention.

"And what say do you have as to how I should treat my future husband? You are but a foolish little girl!"

"Little girl?! I'm a year younger than you are!"

"And yet the gap between us is massive!"

"Why you!"

"Please, everyone calm down!" Phoenix tried to prevent a fight from breaking out, but it seems that it was his turn to be ignored.

"You think you are so great and mighty Franziska, but the truth is that you know nothing about how relationships work!" Maya said angrily.

"And what would you know about them you foolish fool?"Franziska answered back clearly ticked by Maya's words. How dare she claim that a von Karma was ignorant of something?

"Enough to know that Phoenix doesn't even enjoy being in the same room as you!" Maya said pointing to Phoenix who was making hand signs for her to stop.

' _Maya! Don't throw me under the bus!_ ' He mouthed to no avail.

"He doesn't deserve to be stuck with someone like you! In fact he is too good for you!" Those words really stuck on Phoenix. Maya, thinking so highly of him, always being a good friend in good times and bad times, no matter if she was "awake" or not.

Franziska on the other hand glared at Maya until she was hit by a sudden realization, which in turn caused her to smirk.

"Oh, I see!" she said still smirking; "You are in love with my future husband, aren't you?"

"WHAT!" was both Phoenix's and Maya's simultaneous response.

"Though for someone like me he isn't much at the moment, I can see why someone of your stature and upbringing would consider him quite a catch."

' _I don't know if I shall feel offended or not by that statement._ '

"Even so, I must ask you to quit whatever hopes you have for anything but a platonic relationship with him." Franziska stated.

"First of all I don't think of him that way! And second I think he can make a decision himself as for whom he loves!" Maya was getting quite annoyed and angry with Franziska's tone and insults.

"Ha! As if he would ever choose a foolish girl like you without any manners or natural charm!" Clearly, an Acolyte from a mountain village was no real competition for someone like her.

"I can be charming if I want, in fact I can charm anyone better than you!"

"Is that a challenge?"

"And what if it is?"

"Very well, A von Karma never turns down a challenge! I challenge you a competition of womanly charm!" Then she pointed her whip towards Phoenix "With the judge will be Phoenix Wright!"

"Wait what?" Phoenix exclaimed dumbfounded.

"Whoever wins gets to keep him, and the loser renounces him forever!" Franziska stipulated.

"Wait! Don't I have a say on...?"

"You got yourself a deal!" Maya accepted more so to prove Franziska wrong than for real romantic interest for Phoenix.

"Good! We'll compete for him next Sunday!"

' _What the heck is going on?!_ '

* * *

"You did what?!" came the shout of one surprised Mia. "What were you thinking Maya?"

"I'm sorry sis!" Maya apologized to her sister, "It's just that Franziska was really mean and I kinda lost it!"

"Do you have any idea what a mess you caused?" Mia continued with her rant. "This really complicate things for all of us!"

"How exactly?" Phoenix asked to her angry boss, something he didn't see that often. "I mean, if I chose Maya as the winner, then Franziska would leave me alone!"

"Don't you see, Phoenix?" Mia then directed her attention to her apprentice, "If Maya wins, that means the engagement passes to her and she will not have any other option but to marry you, not only by Amazon law but by Kurain Law too."

"Wait what?" It was now Maya's turn to shout in surprise. "I never heard of such law!"

' _Me neither_.' And he had studied Kurain laws before; was this a change caused by the variant too?

"Well, it is not exactly a written rule, but once you are engaged you can't turn back or Maya risks her reputation and could be punished for it. So if she's the victor you will have to marry her."

"But…" Phoenix began but he was quickly interrupted.

"And if that happens, you will have to retire as a Lawyer and spent your days confined in Kurain following their strict traditions, especially since you will be marrying into the main family."

"We could divorce!" Phoenix blurted out only to instantly regret it. Because of the village's strict rules and matriarchal nature, most men leave their families leaving behind children fatherless. Something that happened to the Fey sisters in front of him.

Mia ignored his faux pas and shook her head. "It is an option but only after you have sired a child, something that Maya isn't ready for!"

' _Nor is it viable thanks to Yggdrasil!_ '

"And if you try to run away before you conceive a baby, you better not show yourself back around these parts or it would be open season for you" Mia then added. "Not to mention I would be really disappointed in you Phoenix!"

' _There goes my idea of living a new life in Mexico. Adios Fenix Wrighto Gonzalez!_ '

Then again, it wasn't like he could just run away just like that and leave Maya to suffer scorn and humiliation from her clan. His personal code of honor wouldn't allow it.

"Sis, what are we going to do?" Maya asked almost in tears. She didn't expect her little spat with Franziska would turn out to be so bad for all of them.

"There is nothing you or I can do." Mia said as she held her sister in her arms. "The only one that could do something is you Phoenix!"

"Me?"

"Yes, you!" Mia's gaze on him turned harder. "You'll have to choose. Marry my sister or marry Franziska that are your only options!"

 _'So a lose-lose situation for me!'_ Sure, he could choose Maya. But been married to his best friend would only be awkward not to mention he would trap Maya into a loveless marriage for the rest of the loop.

"That or you could commit to the abdomen-cutting suicidal ritual to avoid bring dishonor to both families!"

"What!?"

"Yes, then by Kurain Law your soul would be forbidden for summoning by any member of the Fey clan forever."

"Isn't that a little extreme?" Phoenix knew that if he died the Loop would just crash and reset, but that didn't mean he was down for self-disembowelment.

"I'm just telling you your options here!" Mia said still holding Maya in her arms.

"But I…" He really was at loss here. His only options were to die or to marry. Why did he have to be the multiverse's chewing toy? Did it enjoy seeing him struggle in this absurd situations?

"You don't have to choose now." Mia said relaxing her hard tone a little bit. "But if you choose not to die, then the competition is still on." Then she turned to Maya, "I'm going to talk to Franziska to go over the details of this competition"

"Wait Mia, there is no need for that! I'll choose now and avoid this silly competition!" Phoenix said that but he was still unsure about whom to choose.

"No. Kurain law demands a fair duel and a fair witness so that there is no cheating or manipulation from the competitors and the judge."

So like the urban youth would say: When it's on it's on. You can't say it's on and later say it's off, it can't be off when it's clearly on. So it is still on.

"Come on Maya, after I'm done talking with Franziska, we will train together so you can be ready."

"Mia…"

And with that the two Fey sisters left Phoenix alone in the office, with his troubling thoughts as his only company.

' _Just what the heck am I supposed to do?_ '

He knew he was going to keep saying that for the rest of this run.

* * *

Finally, the dreaded day of the competition came.

Phoenix was sitting within a training hall in Kurain Village. Somehow, Mia had managed to convince Franziska to hold the competition here. He didn't know how or why she did it but frankly right now it was the least of his worries.

"You must be pretty excited Mr. Wright." the person sitting next to him said. "I mean, two women fighting for your love must be the dream of any man."

' _If it is, I'm glad am not any man_.'

"That's one way to put it, Emma." Phoenix said with a nervous chuckle.

Emma Skye, 16 years-old; Student and forensics fanatic, but today she was going to act as a witness for this competition.

Phoenix couldn't believe it when he first found out she was the selected witness. Apparently, Mia and Franziska wanted Lana Skye, Chief Prosecutor and Emma's big sister, to be witness. But since she was awfully busy with her work, she sent her little sister Emma in her place, claiming it would make a good learning experience.

' _Yeah, now she can see with her very own eyes how messed up a person's life can get!_ '

It was not like he didn't want her here; Emma was a good friend of the family or at least she would be when Apollo comes around. Or who knows? Maybe this Loop where the SL-9 Incident never happened, Emma will pass her test to be a forensic scientist like she always wanted. Either way, Phoenix preferred to have someone he knew was reliable as witness instead of say, I don't know, Larry Butz.

Phoenix sighed. He knew everything would end up in disaster; it was only a matter of time, he only hoped that nobody ended up hurt.

Then the opposite doors on either side of the training hall opened. Through the right side, Maya entered, followed by Mia and little Pearl?!

' _What was Mia thinking bringing Pearl here?_ ' After he calmed down from the initial surprise Phoenix try to reason an explanation. ' _Maybe something to do with her strong spiritual power, perhaps?_ ' Mia probably wanted her for her ability to see Psyche-locks with ease.

Entering through the left side of the training hall, Franziska walked in followed by Maggey Byrde. Why would Franziska bring Maggey 'The goddess of misfortune' Byrde with her?

' _Gumshoe was probably busy and Franziska brought the first police officer that passed by_.' Phoenix never thought he would see Maggey this soon, after he prevented the accident that made her quit her job on the force.

Preventing murders and changing the baseline really was biting him on the rear this loop.

' _Or maybe some of Maggey's luck passed onto me?_ '

Soon, both Maya and Franziska standing in front of each other, sizing each other up. Then Mia stepped between the two of them and acted as the referee of this whole thing.

"Now, before we start I just want to remind everyone how we are going to proceed with this competition." Mia stopped until she saw both opponents' nods of confirmation.

"First, and foremost, this competition is to gauge your worth and skills as future wives for the right to claim Phoenix Wright's hand in marriage!"

_'Now I know why women dislike been treated as an object to be fought over. It is not a good feeling at all!'_

"Each of you will compete against each other in pre-established trials that you both agreed to, with Phoenix Wright as the judge and Emma Skye as the witness, and I, Mia Fey as a referee."

Phoenix wondered why Franziska would allow Mia act as the referee. Then again, He was supposed to be the one who would decide the winner, not Mia.

"Also, each one of you selected a person to serve as aide for this competition. Franziska, you chose police officer Maggey Byrde as aide; Maya, you chose Pearl Fey."

_'So both Maggey and Pearls are aides? That makes a little more sense.'_

"Now, I don't have to remind you that cheating and sabotaging is out of the question, do I?" Mia ask as she looked directly at a glaring von Karma.

"Of course not. A von Karma doesn't need to rely on cheap tricks and cheats to win!" Franziska said calmly but still annoyed by Mia's insinuation.

"Very well. Then let us begin."

**[First Round]**

"We'll start simple enough, with a cooking contest!" Mia announced in a grandiose manner. Phoenix couldn't help but think that maybe she was secretly enjoying this.

"Cooking Contest…? Phoenix repeated somewhat surprised. "I didn't think it would start with something so mundane." Then again, he didn't know what to expect.

"Well, Mr. Wright."Emma said besides him "As the proverb says: _'the way to a man's heart is through his stomach'_ , and scientifically speaking, a well balanced diet with a smart combination of flavors can affect a person's health and mood. So being a good cook is an important skill for a good and lasting relationship."

"Really?" Phoenix said not really all that surprised. "I guess old proverbs do have a semblance of truth."

"Some of they do, but only those who are scientifically proven with the power of science!"

Then from the side doors, both Maggey and Pearls rolled in with a portable kitchen counter with stove and grill each.

' _HOW IN THE HECK DID THEY GET THOSE_!' One would've been ridiculously acceptable, but two? No way, Jose.

"Wow, I didn't know this quaint mountain village could have a luxury item like those!" Emma commented. "I guess you can't judge a book by its cover. Oh, that's a good one! I better write that down!" Emma then proceeded to write in a small notepad of hers.

Phoenix just mentally chuckled at Emma and return his attention towards Mia.

"You two have 60 minutes to prepare one or more dishes that our Judge Phoenix will taste and determine who is better in the kitchen!" Mia explained. "You may have your aides by your side."

"Come on Mystic Maya! Let's win this so you can be with your special someone!" Pearl said excitedly. "We're not going to let whip lady take Mr. Nick away!"

"Pearly, I told you that it isn't like that." Maya replied embarrassed. Despite currently being in a competition to win Phoenix's hand in marriage, she really didn't see him THAT way. He was a friend, nothing else. She was only competing because she was forced to and because part of her wanted to show up to that 'whip lady'.

"For one thing I agree with your statement!" Franziska commented, "You are the one that is trying to steal my future husband away from me!"

"Miss von Karma…"Maggey said behind her, "I don't think it is a good idea to antagonize them." Especially when they were the 'visitors' at the other team's home turf.

"Worry not, Officer Magpie I shall win this competition single handedly!" Franziska said not really acknowledging what Maggey said, nor her reaction. "Now bring me my special ingredients!"

"O…Officer Mag…pie…?" the poor officer repeated while a metaphysical small black cloud formed over her head. "Why my reputation always precedes me?" she then did what she was told to do.

"Are both sides ready?" Mia cut in on the chatter. When she saw both Mia and Franziska agree, Mia brought her hand up into the air. "Let's set….ready….Go!" She shouted as she brought her hand down.

Both sides started their preparations and began working. Phoenix could tell that both dishes were going to involve meat, something that he was pleased with.

' _On the positive side , I might get a good bite out of this._ '

"Both dishes smell really good, Mr. Wright!" Emma pointed out. "I'm sure both would be delicious, scientifically speaking of course!"

' _What does science has to do with cooking?_ ' Then again he wasn't much for cooking even after so many Loops.

Phoenix decided not to voice his thoughts and turned his attention to the competition going on.

Maya style of cooking was a little more forceful while pounding meat than the smooth delicate grace Pearls was exhibiting while cutting vegetables next to her. It was a strange contrast but he knew firsthand that their combined efforts would bear a great dish.

On the other side, Franziska's style of cooking looked more elegant and poised, almost like a true professional chef from a high cuisine restaurant in Europe. And while she was doing all the work, Maggey was standing there staring enthralled by the prosecutor's technique and somewhat relieved that she was doing nothing; a good thing too, or she might had screwed up earning her a whipping from that infamous whip.

The next hour was really intense to watch. Almost like watching Iron Chef America live on the studio. Phoenix couldn't help but feel a little excited, and hungry, while watching both teams competed.

Then a small alarm went off, signaling the end.

"Time's out!"Mia called out. "Now each of you, bring your dishes towards our judge!"

Then a table with the cutlery was set up in front of Phoenix, by Maggey and Pearl while both Franziska and Maya brought their dishes inside cover trays to the table.

"Now, which dish are you going to taste first?" Mia asked putting Phoenix on the spot. He could feel the expectant looks from both Franziska and Maya. Whatever tray he chooses first it would be considered a first small victory for either of them.

"Ehm…I…" Phoenix nervously mumbled not really sure which one to choose.

"Come on Mr. Nick! Please choose Mystic Maya's dish first!" Little Pearl pleaded with those big eyes of hers that only a monster could say not to. Not being a heartless monster, Phoenix opened Maya's tray first. Only to find…

"Hamburgers?"

' _Why would I expect something different?_ '

"Not only that! She also prepared Hamburger Soup!" Pearl proclaimed as if it was the greatest thing in the world. And why wouldn't be? It was made by Mystic Maya after all!

"Ha! Is that all?" Franziska mocked, "A fast food dish and a soup variation? It is clear that cooking isn't really a forte of yours!"

"Why you…!" Pearl took offense for Maya. "Mystic Maya is the best there is and her hamburgers will make Mr. Nick fall in love with her!"

"Pearly please! Stop saying things like that!" Maya intervened not wanting little Pearl to lose her temper and attack Franziska with her tiny fists no matter how much the prosecutor deserved it.

Phoenix by his part took a hamburger and gave it a bite.

_'Mmm, tasty just like always.'_

Phoenix was already accustomed to Maya's homemade hamburgers ever since baseline. They were good, darn good but they were a little overplayed. The soup on the other hand was something different.

' _I wonder why Looping Maya never tried it before._ '

After a few spoonfuls, Phoenix gave his opinion.

"Very good, Maya. Both the hamburger and the soup were great." Phoenix praised, earning a smile from Maya and a smirk from Pearls.

"Thank you Nick." Maya was proud and happy that this last days of intense training made her improve and Phoenix' praise was the icing of the cake so to speak.

"See! I told you Mr. Nick would love Mystic Maya's food!" Pearl pointed to Franziska, who was trying her hardest not to snap at the little brat.

"Hm! A foolish plate that appeals to the lowest common denominator would always be met with small praise!" Franziska shot back. "So don't get high hopes just yet. Because next it is my plate!"

Opening the tray, Franziska proudly revealed a dish that Phoenix had never seen before. "Königsberger Klopse, a Prussian specialty of meatballs in a white sauce with capers and for dessert, Bayrisch Crème, with raspberry, apricot and kiwi!"

_'Woah! Looks very fancy!'_

It was only logical that Franziska went for a European recipe and glamorous presentation, but looks aren't everything. It would be taste what would determine the winner.

With a fork, Phoenix brought one of the white sauced meatballs to his mouth and gave it a try. The texture of the meat was superb, and the spices from the white sauce were excellently mixed together, and the taste was foreign but familiar enough to earn a golden star in Phoenix's book.

As for the dessert, it was very light and fluffy. Not very sweet, but it didn't had to since the combination of the different fruit brought the sweetness home.

"This…this is exquisite…!" Phoenix couldn't lie, it was too good to be able to abstain himself from announcing it. "I..I have no words…" he could only smile in delight.

"Of course!" Franziska said with a smile of her own. "A von Karma always achieve perfection at everything they do!" And cooking was no exception.

"So that means that Franziska is the winner of this first round?" Mia asked Phoenix.

"I guess so."

"Mr. Nick! How could you!" Pearl felt betrayed by Phoenix's decision. "Mystic Maya pour her heart on that dish for you!"

"Pearl it is not that big of a deal!" Maya tried to reassure her little cousin. Sure she put a lot of effort into it and was a little disappointed Phoenix chose Franziska's dish but she wouldn't go as far as say that she poured her heart into it and was crying tears about it.

"But Pearls! It is very good! Give it a try!" Phoenix offered only to be turned down.

"Can I give a try, Mr. Wright? It looks very good!" Emma asked curiously wanted to try the dish he had praised.

"I'm a little curious myself!" Maggey also said. After an hour of seeing both Maya and Franziska cook made her a little peckish.

"Of course you can, that is if Franziska doesn't mind." Phoenix said looking at the smirking prosecutor.

"Hn. I don't mind at all. After all, everyone should have the honor of experiencing the perfection that is a von Karma's cooking abilities!" She declared as everyone hurdle around Phoenix to give her dish a try.

"Oh my goodness! It is delicious!" Maggey cried tears of joy. "I never had something so good in my life!"

"So good! I need to take some back to a lab to analyze it!" Emma also gave her highest compliment she could give.

"Now, I'm curious!" Mia said as she also tried some of the meatballs. "Wow! This is…wow…" She was also without words.

"I..it can't be that good!" Pearl said as she took one meatball and put it in her mouth expecting it to taste horrible. Only to find out that the adults were right.

"So? How was it?" A smirking Franziska couldn't help but ask to gauge the little girl's reaction.

"It…it…it isn't THAT good!" Pearls obviously lied trying to hide the fact that she also enjoyed it. "A..adults have the weirdest taste!"

"Maya! Don't you want to try it?" Phoenix offered only to find Maya stuffing her face with her own hamburgers.

"Nah. I'm alright over here!" Maya didn't mind that everyone preferred Franziska's food over hers. More hamburgers for her that way.

 **[End of the First Round]** Winner: Franziska von Karma.

* * *

**[Second Round]**

After the food was eaten and the portable kitchen counters were removed from the training hall, Mia announced the second test for the competition.

"Now for this next test, we need the help of a special guest." Mia announced much to Phoenix curiosity.

_'I wonder who it could be.'_

"I present to you, the head nun of one of the Fey clan branches, Sister Bikini from the Hazakura Temple!" Mia announced as a very plump woman entered the training hall.

"My, my you don't have to present me so formally, Mystic Mia. I'm just part of the branch family after all." Bikini said as her usual cheerful self.

"But you are doing us a great favor coming all the way here to help us with this contest." Mia said to the nun.

"No, no, no, no. It is my job to assist the members of the main family whenever they request it. The honor is all mine."

While sister Bikini and Mia continue exchanging formalities, Phoenix looked around trying to find someone else.

' _If Sister Bikini is here, then Iris must have also come with her_!' Phoenix discreetly looked around to find a trace of her presence. But she wasn't in here. ' _Guess she stayed at the temple back in Eagle Mountain._ ' Though he would like to see Iris, a part of him was glad she didn't come to see this whole mess.

After Mia and Bikini finished with their conversation, Mia finally let the head nun take the 'stage' to explained what the second test was all about.

"As per ancient tradition, we are going to determine which of these young ladies, is the perfect candidate to become the bride of that handsome young man by using an ancient form of fortune-telling."

"Fortune-telling?" Phoenix wondered out-loud. That was kind of esoteric for his tastes, but this test were prearranged and accepted by both competing parties; which made him wonder why Franziska von Karma would've accept something like this.

"Of course, young man! This is an ancient tradition from Asia that the Fey clan had practiced for ages." Bikini explained. "This not only will tell us which one of this young ladies is the indicated for you but also can predict the luck the future marriage will have!"

"What kind of fortune-telling is this?" Emma asked intrigued. Though she was a firm believer of science, she wondered if this esoteric fortune-telling could be explained or replicated with the power of scientific investigation.

"Well, with Pelvic Fortune-Telling of course!"

"Pelvic Fortune-Telling…?" Phoenix repeated dumbfounded by the name as he face faulted anime style, probably a left over from his loops as Ryuichi or because this was a pseudo-fusion Loop with Ranma.

' _Just how in the heck does one tell the future using a pelvis?_ '

As if Bikini read his thoughts, she happily explained. "What a man should look for in a wife is not appearance but pelvic strength and big hips! These would help facilitate the birthing process and fill any house with strong kids for the future generations!"

Phoenix thought the whole idea was completely ridiculous, but he didn't voice his opinion. He was afraid of offending not only Sister Bikini, but both Mia and Maya too since this was apparently part of their family traditions.

"I'll have you know that I as a von Karma, would easily pass this test since we strive for perfection, and that includes perfect bone structure!" Franziska boosted, prideful of her bloodline.

"Don't count out my sister yet, Franziska!" Mia retorted, "This is an ancient tradition of the Fey family, so Maya has several generations of strong hips on her side!"

"M-Mia! Don't say embarrassing stuff like that!" Maya reprimanded her big sister with a red face. She usually wore baggy robes in order to hide her hips. Unlike Mia who showed them with pride.

"My, my, what an excited pair!" Bikini commented, "Now let us proceed with the pelvic evaluation before the test of strength!" She said as she took a sit next to Phoenix.

"Sister Bikini…?" Phoenix asked worried. "Are you going to do the examinations next to me?"

"No, no, no." The head nun said with a small laugh, "I'm going to help and guide you through the examinations"

"WHAT?!"

"Of course, it is a man's responsibility to feel for himself the kind of hips and pelvis his future wife might have!"

"But…but…!" Phoenix sputtered. Just what kind of tests was this? And why would anyone would accept to do this?

"Now, now, don't worry my dear," Bikini reassured, "I will guide you every step of the way. And since you have no experience with this, we will run a practice round so you can familiarize yourself with the different type of hips and Pelvis there is!"

" round…?"

"Yes, I'm sure these other ladies here wouldn't mind helping us!" Bikini said looking straight to Maggey and Emma.

" ! Us?" Maggey stuttered as she pointed at herself. "But I..I'm not sure about this being…"

"Officer! Remember why you are here in the first place!" Franziska interrupted her. "You are here as an aide to help in this competition. And that includes submitting yourself as a test subject to this fortune-telling!"

"But…" The goddess of bad luck tried to retort but Franziska gave her a look that discouraged any further objections. Also that whip of hers helped the prosecutor made her point even clearer.

"And that goes for you too!" Franziska then pointed with her whip at poor Emma.

"Why me?" The young scientific investigator wannabe asked.

"Because I won't allow Phoenix Wright to make any foolish choice without having any proper preparation or experience!" Franziska explained and then she turned towards Phoenix. "Phoenix Wright! I give you full permission to touch and feel as many women are necessary for you to grasp the concept of a well formed pelvic bone structure!"

"Wha…?" was all that Phoenix could utter after his brain decided to malfunction for the absurdity of this situation.

"As for you!" Franziska then returned her attention to Emma. "Aren't you an aspiring scientific investigator? Shouldn't you jump at an opportunity like this where you can experience firsthand the complex nature of the human body? Isn't your scientific curiosity peaked?"

Franziska's words rang throughout Emma's own psyche. It was true that she wanted to be a scientific investigator; it was true this was a unique opportunity of study of the human body; it was true that her own curiosity was interested to know more!

"Yes! I accept!" Emma shouted, "For scientific discovery!"

The moment she shouted announcing her decision, was the moment Phoenix snap back from his second mind reboot.

"Wait what?" What was going on again?

"Good!" Bikini said as she cheerfully clapped her hands. "Now you two come here and help us."

Then Phoenix came face to face with Maggey's 'posterior'. "I…I…no…what…em…" Phoenix couldn't exactly for coherent words as his face began to turn red.

"Come on don't be shy!" Sister Bikini said as she took his hands and placed them open handed in Maggey's hips. "There! Can you feel that?" Phoenix felt many things, but whatever Bikini was referring to, he had no idea.

"Now that there is the Ilium, the uppermost and largest bone of the pelvis." The nun explained as she moved Phoenix's hands from the hips to the side of the thighs. "And here is the femur! Can you feel the bone and the muscle surrounding it?" She asked again moving Phoenix's hand up and down in a massage like motion.

Of course, all of this rubbing had an effect on the poor officer who just turned redder and redder. She tried to control herself from these sensations and stay composed; something that was proving to be harder than expected.

Phoenix was still on a daze, not being able to form proper thoughts and kept going through the motions sister Bikini guided him to do.

"Now for the lower hip bone!" The nun announced as she moved Phoenix's hands from the hips and thighs to the buttocks. "Now for this one, you have to press and squeeze hard in order to feel the bone under the gluteus!"She suggested which the dazed Phoenix promptly did.

This sudden movement and pressure made Maggey not only flinch slightly but also let out a moan. "Mi..Mister Wr..right! Please be gentler! This is the first time someone had touched me like this!"

Maggey's moan and words finally distracted Phoenix enough to regain some clarity. And to his rising horror, he realized what he had just done.

"Whaa…!" He retired his hands away from Maggey and look down at his hands in a mixture of horror and disgust.

' _What have a done?! How could I?! Bad! Bad! Phoenix!_ '

Phoenix would've continued his own inner berating, if not for sister Bikini who decided to give her evaluation. "Now just as you felt, this young lady's pelvis is strong but it is narrow, which is a sign of bad luck for child birth!"

These words made another black cloud appeared above the poor officer's head. It seemed that her bad luck extended also into her own bone structure.

"Now it's my turn!" Emma announced animatedly. She walked towards the sitting pair and took Maggey's place, with her own backside towards them. "Please evaluate my bone structure!"

"No, wait just a second!" Phoenix finally said. This had gone too far and he wasn't going to allow for more of this. "I have some serious reservations about this!" Not to mention the fact that Emma was still sixteen. "I will have to refu…"

"Please do me too, Mr. Wright!" Emma interrupted, "For scientific discovery!" She shouted as she pushed her bum towards him. Moving out of instinct to avoid a direct hit from Emma's 'attack', Phoenix brought his hands up to defend his face, making his hands land exactly where he refused to placed them in the first place.

With a gasp of horror, Phoenix's soul almost left his body trying to escape this hell that was this situation.

' _I'm touching Emma! The Chief Prosecutor's little sister! I'm so screwed!_ '

While Phoenix was on the edge of having a meltdown, Bikini clapped her hands excitedly. "Good! That is a very good attitude to have!" She then proceeded to take hold of Phoenix's hands once again and repeat the same process as before, making the unfortunate defense attorney rub and squeeze Emma's posterior.

Emma too had a similar reaction as Maggey's. As Phoenix's hands rubbed and squeezed her posterior, she couldn't help but turn red and let out a few moans. "T..this..feels…"

' _Horrible! This is beyond horrible!_ '

This, right here, was Phoenix own definition of hell. Sure there was no fire, demons or eternal damnation but nonetheless he wanted this 'suffering' to end.

"Now as you can see, this young lady's pelvis feels healthy and with a few more years, these hips of hers will acquire a great form for childbearing!" Bikini once again explained. "I'm sure these hips will bring your future husband great happiness and strong kids!"

"Thank you very much for the examination!" The still red faced Emma said. "I will make a detailed report of this for further research!"

' _No, please don't!_ ' If word got out that he felt up the Chief of Prosecutors' little sister, his life would be over! He could see his future now. ' _Hello. My name is Phoenix Wright and I'm obligated to say that I'm a registered sex offender._ '

"Thank you ladies for your cooperation!" Bikini said to the two volunteers as she turned to Phoenix. "Now, we just need a last test subject before we proceed to your two possible wives."

"A..Another one…?" After what he had just done, they expected him to do more!?

"Now we need one more, but this time we need a more developed woman!" Bikini pointed out.

"Developed…?" As in…

"I would volunteer myself, but I have to guide you!" Phoenix sighed in relief. He REALLY wasn't looking forward to do the same to the head nun. "We could ask Miss Morgan! But unfortunately she is busy!" Thank god! He almost choked on his own spit when she suggested that.

"Mystic Mia! Could you be so kind as to help us?" Bikini asked making Phoenix choke this time.

"W-what?!" Phoenix shouted after a coughing fit. "Are you serious?!"

"Of course! Mystic Mia has well-developed hips, she could serve as a perfect example for you! That is if she wants to help us."

' _Good! I'm saved! There is no way Mia would ever…_ '

"I would be glad to help, Sister Bikini!" Mia answered much to Phoenix's complete horror. "As member of the main family I must honor our ancient traditions!" Even if she really didn't want to.

' _Whatever deity that is watching over me right now, why have you forsaken me?_ '

Phoenix inner faith crisis was interrupted again by Bikini but this time placing his hands in Mia's hips.

"Feel these? These are really well formed hips!" Bikini said, "These are wide enough that any baby would come out flying!"

' _Please! In your eyes you have already forsaken me! Just strike me down and end it already!_ '

Thankfully, Mia remained a lot more composed than Maggey or Emma ever could, but still her face was bright red by the end of it all.

"Good! Now that you have practiced! Let us move to the last young ladies remaining!" Bikini proclaimed happily.

Meanwhile Phoenix had already lost any semblance to his former self. The deity in charge had abandoned him. Reason and sense had abandoned him. So why cling to sanity in a world that makes no sense?

"So which one should go first?" Bikini asked and Phoenix looked up to find that both Maya and Franziska were in front of him waiting for him to choose. With his sense of reason already gone into the recesses of his mind Phoenix had to rely on the instincts of his 'paleomammalian brain'.

These instincts made him raised his open palms and placed them in both Maya and Franziska at the same time.

" Ph..phoenix! Don't be so forceful!" Maya pleaded but the now shell of what once was Phoenix Wright didn't relent one bit. Causing the young spirit medium to moan red faced.

"Phoenix Wright! I will never forgive you if you don't give me a throughout examination!" Franziska 'ordered' but the voice she was making made her sound cuter than menacing, which made the animal previously known as Phoenix Wright to continue with what he was doing which no longer could be considered an 'examination'.

This animal continued making both Maya and Franziska more and more and there was nothing that would make him stop. That is until someone intervened.

"Mr. Wright! Pl..please, I think I need another examination!" Emma pleaded as she shoved her pelvis once more for him.

"Me too!" Maggey also said. "I'm not happy with the results I got, I need a second examination!"

"Do not forget about me!" Mia also joined to form a quintet of eager patients waiting for the doctor to use his magic hands.

As the lustful beast that previously was a defense attorney was about to dive in, a small tug on his jacket stopped him on his tracks.

"Mr. Nick…I too want an examination…!" said little Pearly.

But before Phoenix could say anything a hand rested on his shoulder.

"Hello there Phoenix!" The voice of a man said.

"Who…?" Phoenix snapped out of his crazed mental state and came face to face with a man he didn't expect to meet not even after a million years. "C..Chris Hansen?!"

"Why don't you take a seat? Right over there!"

And that's when Phoenix Wright lost consciousness.

"Phoenix wake up!" Mia said as a splash of water hit him in the face.

"Wait what? What happened?" Phoenix tried to remove the moisture on his face as he sat up and look around only to find himself outside near a waterfall.

"You passed out." Mia said as she helped him get back to his feet. "Just after Sister Bikini announced the name of the event."

"Wha…?" Phoenix uttered while his mind was trying to catch up.

"And because we couldn't wake you up, Maya and Franziska decided to continue with the test anyway. Maya won the test of strength after she pushed Franziska out of the platform with a well planted hip strike!" Making Maya the winner of the second test. "Now we are at the waterfall doing the third test.

"So…everything was just a dream?" Or better said, a nightmare.

"Must have been a very vivid one. You were whimpering and moaning and I think I saw you shed tears at one point!" Mia pointed out. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine! I'm just glad the whole thing was a bad dream after all." Phoenix sighed in relief. "So? What are we doing by the waterfall again?" A waterfall that shouldn't be there according to his memories of Kurain back from baseline.

"The third challenge: Misogi!" Mia explained. "By meditating under the strong torrent of falling water, a person demonstrate not only mental strength but also spiritual. This challenge is to test both Maya's and Franziska's mettle. To show dedication, courage and patience at future adversity that married life may bring."

"Wow!" was all that he could say.

"It also helps purify the soul from evil thoughts and desires of the six elements that make up the human being, the five senses and the mind."

When the word desire reached Phoenix's ears, the overly sensual moans of pleasure from his strange nightmare echoed in this mind. Then in an instant, Phoenix dashed and sat under the raging waterfall between Maya and Franziska.

"Phoenix! What are you doing?!" Mia called out, but Phoenix ignored her and tried to concentrate.

' _Purify the soul! Cleanse the mind! Purify the soul! Cleanse the mind! Purify the soul! Cleanse the mind!_ ' He chanted over and over again.

 **[End of the Second Round]** Winner: Maya Fey

**[Beginning of the Third Round]**

* * *

Phoenix sneezed. He alongside the girls, were back to the training hall after the third challenge was completed. He also was outside his blue suit in favor or a traditional spirit medium's robes.

"You just had to stand under the waterfall with your suit on, didn't you?" Mia chastised as if he was but a child. "God forbid you catch a cold because of that!"

"Phoenix Wright!"Franziska joined in. "I hate to agree with Mia Fey here, but what you did was foolish!"

"I had my reasons, for doing so!" Phoenix answer back but he wasn't going to tell them the embarrassing truth.

"Although I admire your determination, I still think you are a foolish fool!" Franziska said with a smile, surprising Phoenix.

' _Did…did she give me compliment there?_ '

Barely disguised as a backhanded compliment but a compliment nonetheless.

"Now because of you, the third challenge ended up as a tie." Mia reminded. Although she was currently angry at Phoenix, she had to admit she was impressed by Phoenix's endurance. Not many untrained people could last as long as he did.

Not to mention Franziska who also endure the raging waterfall masterfully. What was it that made her so tenacious to never give up? Was it her pride for her bloodline? Or did her claims of perfection have a semblance for truth?

Anyway, this was not the time for deeper thought evaluation; there was a competition to be held. "Since the Third Event was a tie, I suggest we moved to the next challenge!"

 **[End of the Third Round]** Result: TIE

**[Fourth Round]**

"Now we begin the Fourth Challenge!" Mia announced grandiosely. "Battle of Any Talents Competition!"

"Battle of Any Talents Competition…?" Phoenix repeated out-loud. Battle was because they were battling each other, but he wondered what sorts of 'talents' they were referring to.

"Franziska, you chose to show your ability with your whip; Maya you chose Traditional Tea Ceremony." Mia announced as she looked at both contestants.

Meanwhile, Phoenix was confused about this challenge. Sure, a nice demonstration of talents sounded nice, not to mention safe, but with those two different styles of talents, how was he supposed to choose a winner?

From what he knew about tea ceremony, from all his loops being Ryuichi, the whole thing took hours to accomplish and was a very quiet and tranquil event. While whip skills, although impressive, they didn't sound something that screamed 'wife' material.

_'Why didn't they choose a more appropriate talent like singing or dancing?'_

Now that he remembered, Maya really had a nice voice when she was an Idol in Japan during one strange loop. Then again that time she had being practicing since she was little. As for Franziska, he had never seen her sing or dance during base line, or during Loops. So he had no idea how something like that would look like.

"Are you two ready?" Mia asked bringing Phoenix attention back from his thoughts. She was standing between both Franziska and Maya were front and center in the Training Hall, while he and the rest were sitting seated at the edge of a wall.

_'Wait! Why are they both going at the same time?'_

Yes. Franziska was standing lashing her whip into the floor practicing, while Maya was sitting in Seiza position with her _chadōgu_. Phoenix blinked perplexed until a thought came to him.

'No way. They couldn't mean…'

"Begin!" Mia called out bringing her hand down from the air and quickly jumped away. Franziska was the first one to move as she lashed her whip towards the still sitting Maya.

"Maya!" Phoenix called out worriedly, but before the whip could make contact with the spirit medium, Maya brought up a _hishaku_ , a bamboo water scoop, and blocked the attack.

After seeing that, Phoenix fearful thought was confirmed.

' _Battle of Any Talents Competition…that is basically an 'Anything Goes Style Fight!'_ " That meant that this test was about Franziska and Maya having a battle using a 'Talent' of theirs as a fighting style.

 _'I got to do something!'_ But before he could move, Maya retaliated Franziska's attack by throwing a _chashaku_ , a bamboo tea powder scoop, towards the prosecutor who expertly dodged it to the side and the thrown instrument was imbedded into the training hall wall.

"Wow! I never knew Tea Ceremony equipment could be used to fight like that!" Emma shouted excitedly. "I better take notes!" she said as she brought out her notepad and began writing.

"Please be careful Miss von Karma!" Maggey said. "Those things look awfully sharp!" She only hoped that none of them came flying towards her and impaled her.

"Go Mystic Maya! Show that whip lady how strong and great you are!" Pearl cheered excitedly. This was a lot better than that Steel Samurai show Maya and she watched!

"Impressive, I didn't expect you to survive the first attack let alone retaliate. So congratulations are due." Franziska said with a smirk.

"Save them after I show you the true extend of my abilities." Maya shot back as she twirled her hishaku while still in seiza position.

"Very well! Try to keep up and make this entertaining for me!" The prosecutor laughed as she lashed her whip several times faster than before; All of which Maya blocked with her hishaku.

Phoenix was astounded by all of this. ' _Since when Maya could do Martial Arts Tea Ceremony?!_ '

"She's been practicing really hard these past few days!" Mia explained appearing suddenly by his side. "We both knew Franziska would insist in a combat duel, so she spent most of this time practicing MATC with an elder woman from a branch family. It is outstanding how much she progressed in a couple of days."

' _Baseline Maya is many things, but graceful and a martial arts prodigy she isn't_.' This had to be more variation brought up by the Ranma side of this pseudo fused loop, were people could pick up skills and techniques at the drop of a hat.

"You are good defending yourself from my whip!" Franziska commented, "But how about this!" She then dashed forward and launched a very impressive kick which Maya barely dodged by bending backwards and letting the kick pass over her. But Franziska wasn't done yet. She use the momentum of the kick to reposition herself over the bent Maya and brought her other leg upwards with the intent to deliver a powerful downward ax kick.

Maya not being able to block such attack, tried to roll out of the way but the kick still grazed her.

"Ha! Your style has a very good stable form, but it is weak against over head attacks!" Franziska scoff at Maya as she jumped to deliver another devastating blow. Unfortunately for her, that was what Maya was waiting for.

"How about you sit down!" Maya brought out a chakin cloth that enveloped Franziska's legs and tied them up causing her to fall on the floor. " It is poor manners to stand during the Tea Ceremony, you know." Maya quipped as she sat back up in seiza once more.

"Go Mystic Maya, Go!" Pearl kept on cheering. "You can do it!"

Next to her, Emma was taking notes. "Simply fascinating! I didn't know it was possible for people to move that fast or fight like that when they're sitting down! This needs further research!"

Besides Emma, officer Maggey didn't exactly shred the enthusiasm of the previous two. "Are you alright, Miss von Karma?" She really hoped the downed prosecutor wasn't hurt at all.

"Why you…!" Franziska growled as she tried to tear the bindings on her legs, ut it was proving to be more difficult than it looked. Then she rolled away as Maya attacked not wanting to give her the chance to release herself. Still, she wasn't going to give up now. Losing was out of the question for a von Karma, especially with what was a stake.

While the fight continued, Phoenix sat there watching feeling aghast. The more they exchanged blows, more and more they tried to hurt the other. After a few minutes in, it no longer look like a competition but a death battle.

_'This…this is all my fault!'_

Maya and Franziska were in pain and hurting each other because of him; because he didn't stood up against Franziska and for going along with this ridiculous competition. But now he was going to put a stop to it.

"ENOUGH!" He shouted and leaved his seat to stand between both Maya and Franziska, who were tired and in pain. "I can't no longer see through this! I'm putting an end to this!"

"But Phoenix!...There are still… more events… to compete on!" Maya said gasping for air. She hasn't thru with teaching that prosecutor a lesson.

"No! No more! I came to a decision!" Phoenix announced.

"So who do you choose?" Mia asked expectantly. She too, didn't want this competition to happen in the first place, but she was forced to play a part of it for her family honor. "Which one? Maya or Franziska?"

"Neither!" He proclaimed shocking everyone. "I choose to undergo the abdomen-cutting ritual."

It was the only option left. He couldn't choose Maya, because not only it would be awkward for the two of them, he would be robbing her freedom to choose to be with whomever she might love. Besides, the village would demand them to produce a child as soon as possible, something he was unable to do.

And he couldn't choose Franziska, because he knew she was more interested in conserving the honor of her family and vow, and he was just an accessory more than anything.

"You can't be serious Nick!" Maya cried hoping that what he said was just some sort of sick joke. "You can't do it!" Everyone else also agreed and pleaded him to reconsider.

"I am serious!" Phoenix said firmly. "This has gone far enough. In order to preserve the honor of both families, I chose death." Not to mention his own personal code of honor as Phoenix and as Ryuichi, refused the idea of running and hiding away for the rest of the loop. No, it was better to end it and restart the Loop.

_'Maybe next time things won't be as crazy next time.'_

Then Franziska quickly stepped up to him and gave him a big slap in the face. The silence that followed was deep, but it only lasted a few seconds before it was broken by a crying prosecutor.

"You…You…! Why would you choose death?" she cried as tears began forming in her eyes.

Phoenix rubbed his jaw and cheek where Fanziska had slapped him. "If you mean why I chose it over you, it's because to you I'm just a thing to have." He explained almost coldly. "You only care to fulfill your vow and preserve your honor as a von Karma. So when I'm gone, you are free to fine another man who isn't as foolish and worthless as I am." He threw her insults for him back at her.

"Idiot! Why would you say I don't care? It wasn't because of honor that I help you rearranged your apartment so you have a more efficient morning, or that I changed your diet so you'll be healthier or that I try to push you to become the best man you can. I did so because I care!"

_'Then you have a strange way of showing it, with all those whippings I…'_

Then Phoenix stopped his train of thought. Franziska had yet to hit him with her whip. Sure, she had whipped at him but she he had been hitting his surroundings, never his body.

"It is true that a von Karma always seeks perfection, and that you aren't perfect at all…you are whinny, annoying and, as they say, a weenie."

' _Geez…thanks!_ '

"But under all of that, there lies the man who could surpass a von Karma in a court battle. The man steel in his voice and fire in his eyes, the man I fell in love with!"

' _Fell in love…?!_ ' He couldn't believe these exact words came from Franziska von Karma, and much less directed at him.

Phoenix had been told before that when he is in court defending holding his client's fate in his hands, the expression in his face would change and would he looked like a total different man, a more confident and stronger person. That was what Franziska had seen of him and caught her interest.

"But… the vow…?"

"Do you really believe I grown woman like me would leave her future at the hands of chance and a silly promise I made as a child? If it had been any other man who defeated me, I would've never acted upon it, and I'd forget about it."

"But that means…"

"That I chose you Phoenix Wright, for being you, the man you are deep inside. Not for honor, or for blind luck." Then Franziska planted a kiss in Phoenix's lips to show how serious she was. This kiss was much more different than the first one she gave him. With this one, he could feel the emotions behind Franziska's words.

Phoenix was speechless. He couldn't believe that Franziska felt this way for him. These feelings and emotions for him were true. But Phoenix didn't know if he could ever reciprocate them, but he couldn't deny he was fascinated with what Franziska was offering.

Meanwhile, while the whole thing was playing out, the captivated audience had many different reactions.

Maggey was watching the whole scene with teary eyes. As if this was the grand finale for a soup opera that she had been watching since the first episode. "Miss von Karma…I'm glad you found love!" If only the same thing could happen to her!

Emma was watching with great attention taking notes. This not only would help her with her studies about human psychology and emotions, it was giving her tips for future reference when a man finally caught her fancy.

Maya looked at the scene with surprised eyes. She had been wrong about Franziska and what Phoenix meant for her. Franziska really liked him and if Phoenix reciprocated her feelings, then she will be happy for them.

Little Pearl watched with conflicted emotions. On one hand, the scene evoked a feeling of betrayal for Mystic Maya, but on the other she couldn't deny that what she saw in front of her eyes was a scene of pure love and she couldn't keep her eyes away.

Mia look at the scene expectantly. Sure it was a cute seen, but in the end the competition was still on, and Phoenix needed to declare a winner, or choose Death which wasn't very likely.

"Sorry to interrupt you two, but I believe we were in the middle of something…" Mia intervine causing Phoenix to blush when and look away from his mentor after the kiss with Franziska was over. "So Phoenix…Did you finally decided on a winner or you still choose death?"

"I guess…"Phoenix trailed off for just a second. "I guess Franziska won." He finally declared putting an end to the competition.

' _I may not see or love Franziska the same way she loves me, but that doesn't mean I can't care for her. At least in this Loop_.'

"Franziska von Karma is the winner! And I declared this competition to be OVER!" Mia declared. Before sighing slightly exhausted. It had been a long day for everyone.

"Congratulations! Mr. Wright! Miss von Karma!" Both Maggey and Emma walked to the new 'couple' with smiles on their faces. "It sure was an intense competition!"

"Hey Franziska!" Maya called out to the prosecutor with a very proper voice. "Just treat him well and make Nick happy, ok? Or you'll have to deal with me again!"

"Of course!" Franziska answered and shook the hand of a now smiling Maya.

"Good, that's all I wanted to hear." Maya then turned to little Pearl who was clinging to her. "Pearly, do you have anything to say?"

"I…I…I congratulate you on your victory!" Pearl finally said. "Just take care of your special someone!" Then she looked up to Phoenix, "And that goes for you too, Mr. Nick!"

"Y-yes, sure!" He stuttered a bit. ' _Pearls really take displays of love and romance a little too seriously._ ' Also, he wasn't really exactly sure if the term 'special someone' really applied to him and Franziska.

Suddenly the side door of the training hall opened and a young woman with spirit medium robes entered carrying a large object with her. "Mystic Mia! I brought the ladder just like you asked for!" The spirit medium said.

"Sorry, It seems that we won't need it anymore."Mia apologized. "The competition is over before all the tests were completed. Sorry for wasting your time bringing it all the way here!"

"Worry not, Mystic Mia. I shall return the ladder to its place, now." She said as she picked up said ladder.

Phoenix, who had heard the conversation wanted to object to something thay said, but Franziska beat him to it. "Foolish girl, don't you see that it is not a ladder but a step-ladder? They are different things!"

' _Ok, I give her some brownie points for that one!_ '

 **[End of the Fourth Round]** winner: undecided.

 **[End of the competition]** winner: Franziska von Karma.

* * *

**Epilogue:**

_April 20th 4:28 pm._

_District Court, Defendant Lobby n°3_

"Thanks Apollo, you came through just as I thought you would!" Phoenix Wright, ex-defense attorney, said to the young defense attorney as the case came to a close.

"I'm pretty sure I didn't do anything special…It was you who cornered Mr. Gav…I mean the killer." Even after seven years and currently being a pianist and a professional poker player, Mr. Wright still had that edge that made him famous. Heck that black suit of his, made him look very professional.

"I couldn't have done it myself. You sensed it too, today, didn't you? Your… ability." Wright said cryptically, sticking close to the 'script' of these events.

"Ability…?" Apollo repeated confused.

"Yes a sensitivity that I lack. You'll come to understand it soon enough." What kind of a mentor would he be if he gave Apollo all the answers? No, Apollo needed to realize the answers by himself, he just was there to serve as a guide, nothing else. "You'll have to find the answers yourself."

"The answer…right." Apollo said a little disappointed and slightly annoyed that Mr. Wright wasn't giving him any straight answers. "Today it's been a day of many questions without answers…most of them about Mr. Gavin.

"What possible reason could he have to commit murder? Perhaps you'll learn that in the days to come…" All Wright needed to do was plant the seeds and Apollo's curiosity and drive would make them grow and bear fruit the new age of Law for this country.

"Speaking of days to come, I may be out of a job." Apollo said sadly, "I worked for Gavin Law Offices after all." And getting your employer arrested wouldn't make him any favors when looking for a job in a new law office.

"I may be able to help with that!" Phoenix said with a smile and handed a small card to Apollo.

"Fey & Co. Law Offices." Apollo read in the card. "This is…!"

"The Law Offices that I used to work with." Wright explained. "Go there and say that I send you with my recommendation. I'm sure they'll treat you well." Phoenix was really interested to see how Apollo grew under the mentorship of Mia. That would be a sight to see.

"Mr. Wright…" Apollo said moved by the man's generosity.

"Think of it as repayment for what you just did for me!" Wright gave the young boy a smile.

' _Wait a second! Does that mean he isn't going to pay me?_ ' Apollo thought concerned. But before Apollo could even attempt to ask Mr. Wright about it, a person launch itself towards Mr. Wright and wrapped its arms around the man.

"Daddy!" Cried none other than the prosecutor he had just battled with in court. Miss Trucy von Karma! The young prodigy that had become a famous prosecutor at the age of thirteen, now at sixteen, she was already a decorated veteran who had never lost a case before.

Apollo never imagined he would ever stand against her in court let alone win. But now, said veteran, known for her ruthless efficiency at prosecuting, was crying tears in the arms of the man she almost got convicted. A man she was calling…

"D-D-DADDY!?" Apollo was shocked to the core. "Is it true? Miss von Karma here is your daughter?!"

"Yes, Apollo it is true." Phoenix confirmed as he rubbed the back of Trucy's back with his had trying to comfort her just like when she was little. "Trucy here is my Daughter, but she bears her mother's last name."

And boy, that was a story to tell.

After he had chosen Franziska as his fiancée things proceeded as normal. Or as normal as dating Franziska von Karma could be. Sure she still acted a little bit like a tsundere, as Ryuichi would say, but she had come to care deeply for her in this past seven years.

As for cases, some were different but yet familiar. But one that remained the same was Zak Gramarye's case.

Phoenix was conflicted about what he should do. If he won the case, Trucy would remain with her real parents he could keep being an attorney but the first steps for changing the Law system for good would disappear; if he lost, he could adopt Trucy and get Apollo to help him with his plan, something he knew it would succeed.

The only problem with the second option was how Franziska would've reacted after hearing the news about his disbarment. Luckily for him, Franziska was overseas when the case came and Phoenix decided to lose.

Either she would be so ashamed of him that she would never speak to him ever again, or she would be so pissed that she would fly all the way back to Los Angeles just so she could whip him probably to near death.

Unfortunately for him, the second option became true and he had almost died. Fortunately, it was after he had already adopted Trucy and her adorable tears were enough to stop Franziska from putting him in a coma.

After he recovered enough, he and Franziska had a LONG talk. And in order for her to go with his plans, he had to reveal to her his status as a looper and his foreknowledge of the events to come. Of course, Franziska being herself, she didn't believe a word that came from his mouth. That is until he showed her his subspace pocket and transformed into Kamen Rider in front of her.

And that only made their talk a LOT longer, with her asking all sorts of questions imaginable.

In the end, Franziska decided to go along with his plans with one condition: Trucy would bare her last name and Franziska would be allowed to train her to be a prosecutor.

Phoenix was initially against it, because it meant that Trucy would have to travel around the world with Franziska while he stayed in Los Angeles carrying out his plans. But Franziska managed to convince him.

" _If what you say is true Phoenix, then that means we could never had children of our own. So I want to be this child's mother for this 'Loop' as you called it. I'll never have an opportunity to be a mother like this ever again_."

Phoenix ended up agreeing with a few conditions of his own: Trucy would be allow to practice to become a Professional Magician, besides, if Klavier could be both a rock star and a prosecutor, then Trucy could be a stage Magician as well as a prosecutor; the second was that Franziska would regularly come back and let Trucy stay with him and that he was allowed to spoiled her.

Franziska reluctantly agreed, although she also prohibited him from dressing like a Hobo; and so Trucy grew up as their daughter, calling them both Mommy and Daddy despite them never tying the knot.

Under Franziska's guidance Trucy grew to become a prosecutor much like she was, whip included, not to mention that with Franziska's connections she also learned from the best Magicians around the world. But despite being a fierce girl in the courtroom, when she was with her father she was still the same sweet and energetic girl she always has been.

Trucy was still the apple of his eye.

"If she's your daughter, why would she prosecute against you?" Apollo asked almost menacingly. The idea of family member going against another like that rubbed him the wrong way, especially after growing up without a family.

"Apollo! Enough!" Wright put down Apollo accusation, but when he saw the look they boy gave him he couldn't help but sigh. "Apollo, I want you to remember this. It is something I've learned from my years as a defense attorney."

"What is it Mr. Wright?" Apollo asked intrigued.

"Our current Law System is flawed. And one of the main reasons is the disharmony between the Defense and the Prosecution." Phoenix saw Apollo giving him a confused look, so he continued. "The system gives a lot of advantages towards the prosecution while demonizing the defense and this has caused a rift between them. But Defense and Prosecution aren't supposed to be rivals fighting each other, but companions working together to find out the truth."

"But Mr. Wright, I…" Apollo tried to cut in but Phoenix wasn't finished yet.

"The job of the Defense is to always believe its client no matter what, while the Prosecutor's it's to always doubt. And when one of the sides fails to live up to its job, then truth is obscured and justice can't be done. It's because of the way things are, with the odds against the defense all the time, and the prosecution being favored that this disharmony happens and why I say this system is flawed."

"I…I think I see what you mean Mr. Wright." Apollo rubbed the back of his head. What Mr. Wright said rand true; he had seen many cases in which the judge penalized the defense from minuscule mistakes and the prosecutor make it really hard for them to get anywhere with all those objections.

"But today, both you and Trucy played your roles perfectly."Wright said "Today there was Harmony in courtroom and Justice and Truth prevailed. So congratulations to the both of you!"

"Thanks Mr Wright!" Apollo was a little elated that his idol was giving him such praise.

"You aren't angry at me Daddy?" Trucy asked whipping away her tears.

"Of course not, you were perfect up there." Phoenix reassured her. "You did exactly as your mother would've, and I couldn't be prouder of you." After hearing this Trucy instantly cheered up.

"Thank you, Daddy!" Trucy said, "I was afraid you would hate me for taking this case. But I couldn't let anyone else prosecute against you!"

"I could never hate you Trucy. You are my little girl after all!" Phoenix smiled and gave her a big hug.

It was a cute scene, but frankly it was giving Apollo diabetes for all the sugar in the air. Then Trucy turned and called his name. "Apollo!"

"Yes…Miss von Karma?"

"Silly, you don't have to call me so formally! Trucy is just fine!" The young prosecutor said with a small laugh as she walked up towards him. It was really difficult to imagine this girl as the fierce veteran that he had confronted just a while ago.

"Ok, then. Trucy…" Apollo said. "What do you need?"

"I just wanted to congratulate you for your first victory." Trucy smiled and then showed her hand which Apollo quickly took and shake.

"Oh! Thank you Trucy!" Apollo smiled back. "But doesn't mean that your perfect record is ruined now?" For someone how had never lost a case before in her life, she was awfully chipper. Then again the defendant was her dad.

"I always knew that someday I would lose." Trucy said. It was reasonable to think like that. Nobody could stay undefeated, much less in court. "In fact I'm happy that I get to lose to someone like you!"

Phoenix, who was watching from the side, suddenly had a strange alarm rang inside his head. "No way, she can't be…"

"Wait, what do you mean by…?" But before he could even finish his question, Trucy placed her hands around his face and brought his head down towards her and gave him a kiss in the lips.

' _What is happening? Why is she kissing me? And right in front of her dad!_ ' Apollo thought alarmed. ' _What would Mr. Wright think?_ '

On the side, Phoenix was gasping for air. ' _Don't tell me, that she also…_ '

When the kiss finally ended, Trucy looked at the dazed Apollo in the eye. "Please take some responsibility!"

"Responsibility? What?" the poor defense attorney was at loss. Just what was this girl refereeing to?

"Yes, because now the two of us are engaged, Polly!" She answered as she planted another kiss but this time in the cheek.

"Engaged?! Polly?!" Apollo repeated dumbfounded. "Mr. Wright what is going on?" He asked hoping to find some sort of answer only to find Mr. Wright trembling and tumbling into the floor.

"Mr. Wright!" Apollo shouting his name was the last thing he heard before Phoenix slowly drifted in the blissful peace that was unconsciousness. He was going to have a LONG talk with Franziska about this, and an even LONGER talk with Trucy and Polly. But all of that could wait after he returned to the land of the living. Now it was peaceful sleepy time.

' _Just what else could go wrong next in this screwed up Loop_.'

**The End**


	2. Earth's Defense (Attorney) Force & Dick Gumshoe Ace Detective

**Earth's Defense (Attorney) Force.**

"The defense may begin with the cross examination!" The old and familiar judge declared as he looked at Phoenix Wright, who was taking the mantle of a Defense Attorney after seven long years.

"Come on boss! Let's show them what you got!" Athena Cykes announced really pumped to see Phoenix in action.

But before Phoenix could even attempt to begin the cross examination the doors to the courtroom slammed open, as a woman wearing strange robes came running in.

"Nick! This is terrible! Aliens are attacking! There are a fleet of spaceships nearing toward us" The apparently crazy lady shouted towards the defense attorney. "What should we do?!"

But before the Judge could tell the bailiff to arrest the woman for interrupting the proceedings, Phoenix Wright just jumped over the defense's desk and ran towards the woman. "Come on Maya let's go! Implement Maneuver BAMGTM-OMEGA, NOW!"

"Mr. Wright?! Where are you going? What's going on?" Asked a very confused Athena.

"Sorry Athena! But I guess you are in charge of this case until I come back!" Phoenix apologized before he and the strangely dressed woman, Maya, exited the court room, leaving behind a perplexed audience.

Seconds later, an officer came running in. "Your Honor! Th-there are Alien ships in the sky!" He shouted clearly shocked from what he had seen "We got to get out of here now!"

The judged cleared his throat "I guess we can put off this trial for another day, any objections?" There were none. "I declared this trial postponed!" he announced with his gavel. "NOW LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!"

Athena ran out of the courthouse only to find chaos on the street. Above in the sky there was a giant Alien ship ominously casting a big shadow that covered half the city, and surrounding that massive ship were many many other smaller ships.

"It is true! The Aliens are invading!" She couldn't believe it. This was something right out of bad scifi movie. But she there was no denying what was above their heads.

"The end is nigh!" She heard someone shout as the people around her started panicking and bolting away looking for refuge. As the streets cleared away, she saw a familiar shape in the distance.

"Mr. Wright!" Athena called out for him as she ran towards him. As she neared him she found him next to the woman who interrupted the trial alongside a VERY BIG green coma shaped rock thingy. "Mr. Wright! What is going on?"

"Stand back Athena, you better search for a refuge!" He ordered, "We are going to take care of this!" After he said this he turned towards Maya who had her hands placed in the rock thing. "How long until it is fully charged?"

"Only a few more minutes!" she said as a strange aura that was coming from her hands was transferring inside the big comma.

"Take care? How can you take care of an alien invasion?!" Athena was clearly distraught by the crazyness of the situation. "And what is that big comma rock anyways!"

"A magatama!" Phoenix said as if that explained everything. "With this we can stop the alien invasion!"

"30 seconds until maximum charge Nick!" Maya shouted.

"Mr. Wright I don't understand what is going on!" Athena was about to start crying. She was very scared, the person she looked up to wasn't making any sense at all and the world was apparently coming to an end.

"You'll understand soon enough!" Mr. Wright said as he took a strange device out of nowhere and put it in his belt. Then he took out what it look like a flash memory device and inserted it on the belt. Suddenly he was enveloped in a bright light and then Phoenix Wright blue suit was no more. In its place he was wearing a odd looking outfit. Similar to those of a toku-hero show.

"Kamen Rider Eternal!"

"M-Mister…Wright…?" Athena was shocked. Not only were Aliens invading, but Phoenix Wright just Transform into a costumed hero in front of her.

"Magatama is fully charged, Nick!" Maya announced before Kamen Rider Eternal picked up the giant magatama over his head like it was nothing. "Wait! Nick!"

"What is it Maya?" was there something that wasn't right with the magatama he wondered.

"Remember to say a cool line before you throw that thing!" Maya said almost making Phoenix drop the magatama.

"Maya!"

"You have to do it Nick!" She pouted.

"Ok fine!" If argued with her about it then it would be too late. Then he looked directly into the sky and shouted as he threw the giant magatama.

"YOU!ALIEN FLEET! TAKE THAT!

The Magatama launched at incredible speed that it arrived to the atmosphere in a few seconds. Then when it reached its highest point, the giant magatama let out a pulse of spiritual energy.

It was then when gigantic chains burst out from the magatama and began extending themselves and expanding in such rapid manner that every ship that stood in their way was obliterated. Then over the chains, giant white locks began appearing every time two of the chains would cross over one another.

This continued until the whole planet was surrounded by them and a city size golden locked appeared over the chains and all other locks.

"Wha-what are those?!" Athena asked mesmerized by the brightness of the golden lock and the calm aura that the white locks emitted.

"Pshyche-Locks!" Kamen Rider said besides her. "Or a variation of them!"

"Yes, a normal pshyche-lock is a mental and spiritual barrier which protects hidden and deep secrets from others." Maya explained. "But these ones help to protect those things that we are care about."

"Like the lives of millions of innocents!" Phoenix added. "No evil force can bypass these locks."

"They…they are beautiful!" Athena said as she looked up to them and admired their radiance.

After a while, the surviving alien invasion retreated after none of their ships or weapons could even put a scratch in any of the locks or chains defending the planet.

Earth was saved.

* * *

**Dick Gumshoe: Ace Detective**

Everyone cheered when Detective Dick Gumshoe opened the doors of the Police Department and entered.

"Congratulations on the last case, Gumshoe!"

"Great work as always!"

"You rock man!"

"Thanks. Thank you all of you, but there is no need I was just doing my job!" Gumshoe said with a big smile adorning his face as he made his way towards his office.

"Well, it is a damn good job, Detective!" said none other than the chief of police who was waiting to congratulate Gumshoe personally. "This last case was a very big one, I'll see that you got a promotion."

"Thank you, but no thank you chief!" The detective said politely. "My job is out there on the field where the action's at. There's where I'm needed."

"Well, at least let me see that you get a rise in your paycheck for the excellent job you are doing!" The chief of police offered instead, not really bothered that Gumshoe refused his offer.

"Thank you chief!" Gumshoe said as the chief of police walked down the hallway towards his office.

Then Miles Edgeworth came forth and shook the detective's hand. "You are a great man, Detective! This city is a lot safer thanks to you."

"You are exaggerating, Mr. Edgeworth." Gumshoe said blushing slightly and a little elated since receiving praise from Miles Edgeworth is a very rare sight indeed. "Besides, I just get the guys; you are the one who puts them behind bars!"

"Don't be so modest, Detective." Edgewoth insisted "It is because of your ability to see underneath any deception that you always manage to find the real culprit, even when we already think we got the right suspect; you always go beyond your line of duty to ensure we aren't sending an innocent man behind bars."

"What can I say, I just love my job!"

"Speaking of love, Detective…I think there is someone besides me who wishes to speak with you." Edgeworth pointed out as he looked to the person waiting by gumshoe's office door. "I'll talk with you later, Detective Gumshoe. Now don't make that young lady wait any longer." And with that, Prosecutor Edgeworth made his way out.

"Are you waiting for me, Officer Byrde?" Gumshoe walked up to the young officer under his charge.

"D-Detective Gumshoe!" Maggey Byrde stuttered a bit. "I-I just want to co-congratulate you for this last case." Then the poor officer cheeks began to turn red. "H-Here! I hope you like it!" she then handed him a small present.

"Maggey…" Gumshoe began but was quickly interrupted by the red faced officer.

"I-I just wanted to show you my ap-appreciation, Detective." She continued with her stutter. "I know, a small rookie officer like me could never get the attention of the most cunning, diligent and honest detective that this department has ever seen." She said while looking down at her feet. "I'm not clever, confident or all that good-looking, but…"She looked back up "I just wanted to at least tell you how I feel!" She knew that what she did was foolish, that she never had any chance to begin with, and that their working relationship would never be the same after this, but at least she told him how she really feel.

"Maggey…I…" He repeated softly making Maggey turned away once more, knowing that he was going turn her down. "I'm sorry…but I'm married to my job." He replied.

Tears began forming in Maggey's eyes. She knew this was coming but it still hurt. But what she didn't expect was for him to put his hand softly under her chin and turned her face to look at him directly in the eyes.

"Then again…it is a very open marriage." he said with a suave smile.

"Detective…Gum…shoe?" Maggey asked surprised as he bend down and neared his lips towards hers.

"Call me Dick!" then he planted a kiss, which Maggey happily returned.

This was the best day on her life.

Looking the scene from afar, Maya turned her head to look up to Phoenix.

"I know I should feel glad that Detective Gumshoe is happy for once…but somehow this Loop feels like there is something fundamentally wrong about it." As if the cosmos and the universe were slightly titled out of balance.

"Yeah, I know what mean, this Loop feels like we are living in an episode straight out of the Twilight Zone."


	3. Phoenix Wrighto Gonzalez: Abogado Defensor

Guess, he should have seen this coming…

After many times of thinking of escaping to the south when things went FUBAR so many times, Phoenix should have expected to eventually have a Loop there. And despite being in a different country, his life wasn't going to be any less crazy, now that he was really living under what once was his cover name.

" _Un momento_!" Fenix Wrighto Gonzalez, _Abogado Denfensor_ , shouted to hold the judge from passing a wrong sentence. "I do have evidence to prove my theory!" His theory that the witness on the stand was really the culprit of the crime and not the defendant.

"What are you talking about, Lighto!" Miguel Espinoza Herrera, who could pass off as a black haired tanned version of Miles Edgeworth, said with a slight condescending tone while mispronouncing Fenix's surname. "There is no way you have evidence to prove something like that."

"Felix! Are you sure you have that kind of evidence?" Maria Esperanza Flores asked worriedly. She was Maya's 'counterpart' in the sense she look exactly as Maya except for the hairdo, the tanned skin and dress.

"Yes, and here it is!" Fenix replied confidently ignoring that Maria mispronounced his name too. " _TOMA YA_!" he shouted as he presented his evidence in court.

"What is this?" _El Juez_ , who look like the Judge back home except this one had a long handlebar mustache.

" _Su Señoria_! I want to remind the court that the witness' occupation. El Sr. Villalobos, declared that he is in fact a Shaman!"

"Yes, which had been stated before, Lighto." Espinoza said almost bored. "You really are grasping at straws! What's next? are you going to accuse the witness for using 'Magic' to kill the victim?"

"That's exactly right!" Fenix declared boldly, making the entire gallery murmur incredulously.

"What?!" Espinoza shouted both in surprise and anger. "You can't be serious! To try and bring 'Magic' as evidence into a court of law! Are you insane or just stupid, Lighto!?"

"If I may explain…" Fenix continued keeping his cool, which infuriated the prosecution even more. "I'd like to bring up the fact that in California, there is a village that practices Spiritual Channeling, which had been proven to be truth and accepted in the court of law!" he then proceeded to show everyone the files that corroborated his claim.

"Spiritual Channeling?!"Espinoza said looking at the files "Are you claiming that a spirit committed the crime? That is just ridiculous!"

"I had to agree with el Sr. Espinoza, Sr. Raito!" El Juez exclaimed. "Even the files state that only those of the Fey Family can channel spirits, not to mention they have to be female!"

"Let me explain, _su Señoria_!" Fenix pleaded while ignoring how once again people mispronounced his name. "I just wanted to prove with those files that spirit channeling is a reality. El Sr. Villalobos, may not be a Fey, but he still is an experienced Shaman. And I prove that he is the true murderer!"

"How are you going to prove that, Lighto?" Espinoza dared while fuming at Fenix.

"Because el Sr. Villalobos is in fact, a _Nahual_!"

"WHAT?!" the gallery exploded in shouts of disbelief

" _Orden_! _Orden en la corte_!" El Juez banged his gavel to silence everyone. "Sr. Righto! That is a very outrageous accusation! How can you prove that?"

" _Protesto_!" Espinoza raised an objection. "This has gone far enough! The defense has clearly gone insane!"

" _Protesto_!" Fenix shot back. "I have evidence that proves it!"

"What? What could possibly prove that this witness is a shape-shifting being of myths?" The prosecution demanded while giving a glare that almost shot daggers.

"Yes, I too wish to see this evidence!" The judge added. "Show us evidence that el Sr. Villalobos is in fact a Nahual!"

"This is it, Felix! We can't go back down!" Maria cheered for him to his side.

" _TOMA YA_!" Fenix presented the piece of evidence.

"The…The murder weapon?" the judge asked confused, looking at the bloody knife.

"No, remember this was discarded after it was proven that the blood on the edge wasn't that of the victim's but that of a something else." Fenix pointed out.

"Yes, the victim tried to defend himself from the attack of a dog with the knife, that we know." Espinoza referred to the bite marks the victim had over his body. "In fact dog that attacked the victim is thought to be the defendant's own supposed missing dog." Espinoza added.

"That is not true! Firulais would never attack anyone!" The defendant shouted in defense of his adored dog. "He is still lost out there!"

"Since the dog was never found, it is possible that the defendant disposed of his dog's body after he was done with the victim who killed the dog in self-defense;" Espinoza continued ignoring the outburst of the defendant. "…that was what turned the defendant into a murderer. He wanted revenge for his adored dog!"

"What if the dog that attacked the victim wasn't Firulais, but el Sr. Villalobos!" Fenix brought up.

"Are you saying that the witness turned into a dog and attacked the victim?" Espinoza snarled. "That is insane!"

"Not really. It is said that when one is born in a specific day, a spirit animal is assigned." Fenix said recalling the legend. "And according to the witness' date of birth he was born under the Nahual of the Dog!"

"That is your proof?!" Espinoza asked appalled at Fenix answer. "That is the flimsiest evidence ever! No! Not even evidence… you got nothing but a simple coincidence!" He was really losing his patience. "I was born under the Nahual of the Spider…Are you going to claim I can turn into the arachnid too?"

"No, you can't!" Although it would be an impressive sight indeed. "But for a Shaman like el Sr. Villalobos, it wouldn't be so hard to accomplish." Fenix pointed out with his finger. "Not to mention that he was the last person who saw the victim alive, and if I recall correctly, other witnesses claim that they both had a harsh discussion about money."

"That is superficial at best and incredibly stupid at worst, there is no way…" But before Espinoza could even finish, el Sr. Villalobos interrupted him.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" the man in the witness stand shouted angrily. "I can't believe that you all are still hearing the demented ramblings of the defense!"

"You can't deny that you were seen harshly discussing with the victim before his murder."

"So what? People discuss all the time, it doesn't mean that I'm a murderer! Which you not only are you accusing me as, but as a shape-shifter too."

"What about the written confession of _la señorita_ Flores?" Fenix said as he took out another piece of evidence. "You advertise yourself as the best of the best in the arts of Magic, you have been heard to say you have an incredible connection with your spiritual animal."

"Every other two-bit Shaman or Magician would claim the same thing! It doesn't mean they can turn into their spirit animals!" Espinoza pointed out, trying to put down the argument, but what he didn't know was that he brought up a sore point for Villalobos.

"So, are you a fake? That everything you claim to be is just a lie to get customers?" Fenix asked looking at Villalobos in the eye.

"Why you! I'm not like the rest! I am the real deal! I communicate with the spirits of the earth and beyond! I'm the possessor of great magic and power! I am the real deal!" the witness answered infuriated that the defense even associated him with those fakers.

"But can you turn into an animal?" Fenix asked again. "That was the real sign of a powerful Shaman in the times before the Spanish Conquest! So are you or are you not a Nahual?"

"I know what you are trying to do!" Villalobos growled. "You are trying to make me self incriminate, but that won't work, you two-bit lawyer!" he continued to growl while clenching one hand over his shoulder.

"No, but I'll like to point out that every time you lose your patience you clench your shoulder." Fenix said with deep look in his eye.

"What?!"

"Yes, you clench it as if you just recently had a wound in that area…like say, been stabbed!"

" _Protesto_!" Espinoza intervened with an objection. "Now you are making things up! It could just be a nervous habit of his!"

"Y-Yes, that is right!" Villalobos agreed with the prosecution's claim, still he was beginning to sweat.

"I don't think so!" Maria joined in the discussion. "I have known Villalobos for years now. And he had never shown a nervous habit like that before!"

"Silence you…! You are on the side of the Defense! You would say anything to shift the blame to me!" The shaman accused with a dirty look. "You have always been jealous of my success!"

"Why you…! You are nothing but a …" But before she could finish, Fenix put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"Sr. Villalobos!" Fenix called out to regain the shaman's attention. "I will retire my claim and let you get of the witness stand if you do something for me?"

"What?"

"Show us your shoulder!" the lawyer demanded.

"What are you talking about, Lighto?"

"If there is no wound then I'll retire my accusation of Sr. Villalobos being the murderer!" Wrighto, not Lighto, explained. "But if there is a wound, which matches with the bloody knife, then that would prove that I'm right!"

"You have clearly lost your marbles!" Villalobos said as he instinctively touched his shoulder.

"Maybe, but if you have nothing to hide, you will show us your shoulder!" Fenix demanded, making the witness sweat even more. "If you do and there is nothing there, then I'll concede defeat to the prosecution."

"Witness. Show us your shoulder and so that we can end this charade once and for all." Espinoza also demanding, wanting to prove how crazy Lighto sounded.

"I…I refuse." Villalobos said clenching his shoulder.

"Witness!" The judge exclaimed in surprise. "By refusing it looks like you admitting some fault."

" I don't care! I refuse to and you can't make me!"

"Felix, we can't let him get away!" Maria looked at him worriedly. "You got to do something!"

' _I have an idea. It is crazy, but it might just work_.' Fenix thought worriedly before taking a piece of evidence that he thought it was useless. " _TOMA YA!_ " he presented the evidence.

It was a ball. It was a dirty chewed ball that fitted on his palm perfectly.

"Sr. Righto, what is the meaning of…" The judge then was promptly ignored by Fenix who began waving the ball towards the direction of the witness.

"Come on boy! Come on! Here's your toy, come on get it, boy!" Fenix said as if he was talking to a dog, something that Villalobos took great offense with.

"You! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He shouted but the defense attorney ignored his outburst and continued to call out for him as if Villalobos was a dog. "Stop it!" He insisted put Fenix continued. "I told you to stop you…!" In his rage Villalobos didn't noticed he has clenching unto his shirt until he had accidently ripped it open, exposing the entire gallery what he was trying to hide.

"So, Sr. Villalobos…" Fenix said as he put the ball away. "Care to explain how you got that wound on your shoulder?"

"I…" Villalobos tried to come up with something but he was drawing a blank.

"Because there are people that can testify that you had no such injury before the day of the murder, not to mention that a wound that large would require medical attention…which you clearly didn't go to since there is no register of you visiting the hospital." He caught him. "Tell us! How you acquired that injury and why didn't you go to the hospital."

"No… I…" Villalobos was now sweating bullets.

"Because I can tell you why…" Fenix didn't stop one bit now that he was on a roll. "You were stabbed by the victim when you attacked him, and you couldn't afford to go to the hospital fearing that you'll be implicated, so you decided to put the blame on the defendant. Admit it!"

"N-N-NO!"

"In fact if we were to compare the blood on the edge of the knife with yours, it would be a perfect match!"

"NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"

Villalobos ended up howling!

"You! You will pay for this!" The Shaman threatened with a piercing glare towards the defense attorney.

"Witness! Please, remain calm!" Espinoza tried to persuade the witness so that he wouldn't say something that would incriminate himself, but his words were simply ignored.

"DIE FENIX WRIGHTO!" The shaman jumped from the stand and in front of the incredulous eyes of everyone inside the gallery, he transformed into a black dog that was aiming for the attorney's jugular.

"Look out!" Maria pushed Fenix out of the way which put her in the direct trajectory of the dog's vicious attack. Luckily she was ready. Just before the dog could even bite her, Maria retaliated by swiping at the dog with immense strength and sent him to the floor. "Bad! Bad Dog!"

"Maria?!" Fenix looked surprised at his aide.

"Told you, I may not be able to transform but I can call upon the attributes of my spirit animal, which in this case were the strength and speed of the Jaguar." Maria explained with a smile.

"I see…." It wasn't that weirder than channeling the spirit of dead, but it was still strange in the fact that it was new to him. "Thanks, Maria. You saved my life."

"You are welcome."

After the irrefutable evidence that Villalobos was in fact a Nahual, and turned into a dog. The judge couldn't give other verdict than 'Non Guilty'. Of course that no one outside of the precinct would ever believe what happened, so they decided to just keep quiet about it unless they wanted to appear as a crazy bunch on the eyes of the world.

Prosecutor Espinoza, agree to this and said that the topic shall never be brought up again.

"Do you think our next cases will be as crazy as this one, Felix?" Maria asked as after they were done with a celebratory meal: Tacos.

"Our?" Fenix, repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course! I saved your life; the least you could do is let me help you!" Maria exclaimed. "Besides, after this whole thing, I doubt many people are in need of a Shaman that practices Nahualism."

"I guess, that is true." Maria would be left without a job so he ended up accepting. "I'll let you be my assistant, but only if you say my name correctly!"

"You mean Fenix?"

"It is Fenix, not Felix! I…"he was ready to start a tired but he stopped himself on the last second "Wait, you said it right this time!"

"Of course! Why would I get it wrong?" Maria asked confused.

"Because you kept calling me Felix, all the time!" not to mention Espinoza and the judge kept mispronouncing his surname too.

"Silly, that is just a nickname!"Maria laughed. "Felix means lucky and or successful, so I thought it was appropriate! It is a shame not been able to call you that."

"I guess… I can live with you calling me that." If he could live with been called Nick or Naruhodo-kun, Felix was no problem at all, despite reminding him of a cartoon cat. Speaking of animals…

"Maria, I been wondering…"

"Yes?"

"Well, since I can't argue about the existence of spirit animals, I was wondering what my spirit animal is." After all he had seen he was really interested.

"It all depends on the day you were born under the Mayan calendar." Maria explained. "But from what I have seen of you I can tell exactly which spirit animal you were born under."

"Really? What is it?" Fenix asked curiously. Would it be a strong one like the jaguar? Or graceful as a bird?

"The snake!" Maria revealed cheerfully

"The snake?" he repeated sounding disappointed.

"Yes, the Mayan spirit Kan! Kan is associated with justice and strength. It is a symbol of peace, truth and balance. Care should be taken to do things right and not make mistakes on the day of Kan. Punishment is handed out swiftly on this day. But it is also a day to find solutions to problems." Maria explained.

That almost sounded like he was destined to be a lawyer.

"Kan grants various strengths and attributes like: Intelligence and analytical mind, physical and mental strength. Also people under the glyph of Kan are humble, hard-working, gifted in the dramatic arts, sincere and help impart justice."

"Wow, I guess the snake is very different animal than what we picture it as in other places." Talk about not judging a book for its cover.

"If you want I could teach you to try and communicate with your spirit animal, since you seem very spiritual aware." Maria offered.

Fenix thought for a moment before nodding. "You know what? I will take you up on that." It would be interesting to see if he could accomplish something like that.

"Great! I can see it now! Jaguar and Snake bringing justice to all!" Maria said excited. "We could form a hero team! Lawyers by day, vigilantes by night!"

"Let us not get ahead of ourselves, here." Fenix tried to bring back Maria from her fantasy land. ' _The again that would be something that Maya would've said_.' He thought remembering the uncanny resemblance between the two girls.

"It's true! Before training we need to eat! Bring out more tacos!"

' _Guess appetite is another shared trait of the two._ '

It seemed that even for Fenix Wrighto Gonzalez, life would never be boring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This came to me after watching The Book of Life. I wanted to do a story about Mexican Culture, but something other than Dia de los Muertos. So I decided on the legend of the Nahual.
> 
> As for the names for Edgeworth, Maya, and the Witness. They are all play on words as in Ace Attorney Tradition.
> 
> Miguel Espinoza Herrera: Espinoza derives from the word 'thorns' and Herrera means something similar to 'of iron' so it translates to Iron Thorns.
> 
> Maria Esperanza Flores: Esperanza means 'Hope' and Flores means 'Flowers' so it literally means something akin to "Flowers of Hope"
> 
> Villalobos: it's a surname combining two words. Villa that means 'Village' and Lobos that means 'Wolves': so it is basically village of wolves.


	4. The concert

Phoenix sighed after no one responded to his ping, a technique used to locate other Loopers.

"Guess this time I'm alone." He had been getting a lot of those lately. That's the woe the anchor has to carry. Then Phoenix waited a few seconds until his Loop Memories were fully processed.

_'Oh! Now that is something different!'_

Apparently Gregory Edgeworth never died, since the DL-6 incident never happened. So Miles never became a prosecutor and he and Phoenix grew up being best friends. And because of their friendship, they both studied Law and become attorneys together. But along the way, something happened.

After a celebratory party, they were boarded by a talent agent that saw them sing Karaoke, and wanted them to become part of a "Boy Band" he was putting together.

After they decided to give it a try just so they could try it, expecting it to fail. But apparently they were very well received by a test group, and became a band with two familiar faces. Defense Attorney Diego Armando and Middle-schooler Apollo?!

Anyway, because they didn't want to mix both careers and get in trouble (or be a laughing stock if they failed), each of them created an alternate persona, kinda like Hannah Cyrus.

And so they began their launch into stardom as the 'Turnabouts' with Gregory being the only one who knew each of their secret identities since they worked for his Law offices.

"What a strange Loop…" Phoenix trailed off. The idea of being a part of a boy band and perform in front of thousands of people terrified him, and living a double life never ended well. But, it was better than having to deal with dangerous Loops, like a zombie apocalypse or something.

"Guess I'll give it a chance." Besides, in this Loop he didn't have two left feet and his singing voice didn't sound bad at all.

* * *

Franziska von Karma walked down the hall towards the office of the chief prosecutor Lana Skye wondering what could be so important as to interrupt her paperwork. When she arrived at the door, she kncked three times and waited to be allowed to enter.

"Come in." She heard Lana Skye's voice on the other side giving her approval and Franziska opened the door. "Franziska, good thing you arrived, I need you to do something for me." Lana said as she gestured to the arrived prosecutor to sit down. "It's a very personal favor and I'd be very grateful if you could do this for me."

"What is it, Chief Lana Skye?" Franziska asked wondering if what would this personal favor conveyed.

"Well, I promised my little sister Emma, that I would take her and her friend Maya and little cousin Pearl to a concert today. But an urgent matter had just come up and I can't take them. So I want you to chaperone the girls for me!"

"But Chief Lana Skye…" Franziska replied reservedly. She was talking to the chief prosecutor after all. "Surely there is someone else who could chaperone these girls. What about an officer?" Even that oaf Scruffy could do a job as simple as looking after three girls.

"I'm afraid everyone is busy today, except you!" Lana pointed out.

"I'm in the middle of paperwork from my last case!" A case she lost to than foolish fool Phoenix Wright. Oh how she hated him so.

"You can finish your paperwork later." Lana waved off. "But, if you aren't convinced I can make this into an order." She said with a small glint in her eye. "Do I have to make this into an order, Franziska?"

"No, ma'am!" Franziska gave in. So much for a quiet day of paperwork; now she had to babysit three girls to a concert.

"Good! Now, go and have fun!" Lana said as she took out a key from her pocket. "Here, use my car. But remember to bring it back without a scratch."

"Of course, Ma'am." Franziska sighed in resignation.

Franziska sighed again. She was getting tired of the chatter of the three girls she was driving to the concert. And the topic of conversation was all about this band named the Turnabouts. This was going to be a LONG day.

"Say, Franziska!" Emma said to her side as she was sitting as her co-pilot. Franziska would've told her to not call her with such familiarity, but Emma was her boss' little sister so she could get away with many things. "Which one of the Turnabouts do you like best?"

"None." She answered curtly. "I don't like music at all." Well, the kind of music that was popular today, she couldn't stand it. She preferred the music of yore of the classic era of great symphonies. That was real music.

"Really?! But they are the most popular band ever!" Maya, one of Emma's friends, said from behind. She was also wearing a shirt with the band's logo. "Not only their music is great but they are hot too!" Then she turned to look at little Pearl who was sitting next to her. "Or in the case of their youngest member, super cute!"

"Yes!" Pearly cheered loudly. "And they have very nice voices too!"

Franziska just rolled her eyes. She didn't care about any of that stuff. Why young girls today could have such tastes, she couldn't possibly know.

Then the car came to a stop again. Traffic was moving really slow because what it look like half of Los Angeles were driving to the same one direction. To the Turnabouts concert.

Emma took this opportunity to shove a magazine at her face. "Look Franziska these are the Turnabouts!"

"The first one is Edge!" Emma pointed out to a page spread filled with pictures of a young black haired man and paragraphs of information about him. "He is the hot one and it's super extreme!" to emphasize her point she pointed to a picture of Edgy riding on a motorcycle. "And he has a wolf dog named Missile! His fangirls are called Edgy-Girls. Myself included."

"Stop!" Franziska said but she was ignored.

"Next one is Godot."Emma changed the page and showed a man that look too old to be in a boy band. He even had white hair for goodness sake. "He is the oldest; he's a little moody and very dark and mysterious." Emma pointed to the fact that in all his pictures he wore a visor mask.

"He is so dreamy!" Maya added. "I wish he would embrace me in those strong arms of his!" She then sighed dreamily. "And his fans are the Godot Gang!" She announced proudly, since she was an avid member.

"He looks twice your age." Franziska pointed out but she was ignored again.

"Then there is Polly!" Emma changed the page again to show a spread of a young blond boy with two bangs covering what looked like a pronounced forehead.

"Yay Polly he is the cutest!" Pearly cheered again.

"He is the youngest and quite popular among both the younger and older fans alike." Emma explained. "He has quite a voice and he is very good at dancing. His fans call themselves Polly Pockets."

"I'm a Polly Pocket!" Pearly said excitedly.

"Sure you are." Franziska said.

"And last but not least, there is Nicky." Emma then showed the pictures of a brunet young man who wore a red scarf in every shot. "He is the shy sensitive one that likes poetry and though not as cute as Polly, he has quite the following. Her fans are called the Nick-oholics!"

"Could you please stop it?" Franziska said trying not to snap at the chief's little sister. "I care for none of those guys."

"That's because you still haven't heard them sing or saw them dance!" Emma they took out a MP3 player and connected it to the stereo of the car. "Check out their latest hit! This one is called 'Brace my Heart.'"

Then the music started playing, and then the band started singing.

_I see you in the far off horizon._   
_Time to get in love formation._   
_Your love is more deadly than a storm_   
_that's why I got to brace my heart._

Franziska stood corrected in her assumption that music today wasn't music at all if this was the best example of it.

"I love this next part!" Maya proclaimed. "Let's sing along, everyone!"

_This storm is happening_   
_it's no mira~~age_   
_So sing it again:_

_Brace my Heart Tonight!"_

The three fan girls sang as loudly as possible, making the prosecutor's eye twitch in annoyance. This was going to be a LONG day.

* * *

Phoenix looked directly into a mirror as he applied some make-up. Currently he was inside the Turnabouts tour bus getting ready for the concert. Although they weren't in tour at the moment, the bus served as a changing room for the four of them to change into their stage personas and when the concert was over, they would change back and leave the bus after driving a few miles away so that nobody spot them and discover their secret identities.

"Phoenix, are you still getting ready?" Edgeworth called out for him, already dressed as his stage persona, Edge. But the fangirls and magazines always referred to him as Edgey, much to his chagrin.

"I'm spaying my hair brown, I'll be done in a few minutes." They all used temporary color spray for their hair; another way for them not to be recognized. Phoenix was a brunette and didn't spike his hair. Edgeworth painted his hair black and styled it in a modern pompadour. Armando used white and wore that visor mask of his, and Apollo turned Blond and used bangs to cover his forehead.

"Well do so quickly, we need to prepare for our entrance." Edgeworth reminded him. They were supposed to descend from the ceiling using wire cables. Something Phoenix wasn't looking forward to.

"I'm a little bit nervous." Apollo shared Phoenix exact feelings towards their grand entrance. "What if something goes wrong?" One of them could take a very nasty fall.

"Don't you worry, kid." Armando, who was already in his Godot disguise, reassured him."Those cables will hold." Then Godot gave him a smirk. "And even if you fall, I'm sure all your fangirls will pile up on top of each other to try and catch you before you hit the ground."

"Th-that is no reassuring at all Mr. Armando!" Poor Apollo pouted as everyone else shared a laugh.

Although Phoenix had some reservations about this whole Boy band thing at first, he had grown to like it; not for the fame or the money but for little moments like this. Where the four of them could joke and share a laugh with each other.

* * *

Franziska finally was able to park the car. With all the traffic and the hassle to find a empty spot, it was almost time for the concert to start.

"Come on! We don't want to be late!" Maya said as she picked up little Pearl. "Come on Pearly I'll carry you over."

"Yes, come one Franny let's go!" Emma then pulled the prosecutor's arm and dragged her along.

 _'She's your boss' sister! She's your boss' sister!'_ Franziska chanted over and over again to remind herself no to snap and whip the girl into oblivion for manhandling her like this and calling her with such a foolish pet name.

As they made their way through the crowd of people wanting to see the concert, Franziska couldn't ignore the way most of girls and women surrounding her were acting. Screaming and crying at the idea of meeting their idols.

"OMG THE TURNABOUTS!"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M GOING TO SEE THEM!"

"EDGY PLEASE MARRY ME!"

Frankly, it disgusted Franziska that members her gender would degenerate itself to act in such foolish manner, and for what? For a bunch of guys who dance and sing? Didn't any of these girls and women have any self-respect?

It came to a point that Franziska couldn't held back anymore. "Stop acting so foolish! They are just guys!" She said guys because she couldn't consider any of them as 'men.'

"GUYS?! WHERE?!"Screamed a rabid fan before she puked on the floor in excitement.

"Oh, come on!" Franziska shouted very uncharacteristically of her. The desperation and the puberty in the air were too much to be able to remain composed or act professional.

After finally passing through the slew of fans girls, Emma's little group finally arrived to their seats. They were close to the stage and have a pretty clear view of all the stage.

"I can't believe we are finally here!" Emma said excitedly. "Been able to see the Turnabouts Live! It's a dream come true!"

"Me too!" Maya agreed. "I can't wait to hear 'Nights of Love!"

"Or 'Under the Cherry Tree'!" Exclaimed little Pearl. "It's the most romantic song they have!"

"Yeah! But my favorite still is 'Special Girl'" Emma answered.

The three of them kept on talking about which song the Turnabouts would perform and in what order, while Franziska just sat on her seat wanting this thing to start already so that it could end already.

' _I could be doing paperwork right about now._ ' A far more enjoyable experience than this place in her opinion.

Then the lights inside the hall dimmed and the stage was illuminated with all sorts of colored lights and lasers. Some of which passed over the crowd of screaming girls.

' _Why couldn't it be lasers that cut people in half?_ ' she thought morbidly. If this was what this generation of women was, she would be more than happy if they thinned the herd, so to speak.

Then spot lights shone towards the ceiling of the hall as an announcer began speaking.

"Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen!" who was the announcer trying to fool? There were no men in the audience. "Are you ready to receive the hottest band of the moment here in Los Angeles?"

The answer to that was an even more strident screams of the girls in the audience. Franziska was already praying to go deaf just so she could ignore all of it.

"Here they are! THE TURNABOUTS!"

*SCREAMS!*

"Please welcome: Edgy!" Then from the ceiling, a motorcycle was descending alongside a guy riding on top of it. It would've looked spectacular if it weren't for all the wire work around the bike.

' _Lot's of wires, not exactly creating the illusion there!_ ' Franziska thought sarcastically.

"Godot!" The oldest of the bunch also descended but in a snowboard.

' _You better watch out old man or you'll break your hip!_ '

"Polly!" The youngest one descended on a razor scooter.

' _Cute, I hope you don't regret all of this when you try to find a real job in the future_!"

"And finally, Nicky!" The last one descended in a bicycle while wearing a full on safety helmet that covered his face. It would've looked appropriate if the bike he was riding were not a sports one, but no. It was one of those you would use for slow rides in the park. In other words, a bike for a pansy pants.

 _'I can't believe these are the guys everyone here is so into. I lost my faith in the future of humanity.'_ But Franziska's sardonic thoughts were interrupted when Nicky took out his helmet and let his hair flow out.

"Wow. Who let all these pretty girls in here?" He said in a sweet and tenderly voice that caused all the females in the audience to scream like crazy. While Franziska was left stunned for a second.

Then before she even realized what just happened, music started blasting through the hall and the Turnabouts began signing and dancing.

_E: We love to dance and we love to sing!_   
_G: We're real hunky but not threatening!_   
_P: We have the best fans in the world!_   
_N: But we'd give it all up for that special girl!_

When Nicky sang that last verse, Franziska breath was caught on her throat. Almost as if that particular verse was directed at her.

_(Your my special girl)_   
_N: Spe~~cial gi~~~~rl!_   
_(Your-my-spe-cial-girl)_   
_N: Only you~~~~!_

Everound her, everyone cheered and Franziska couldn't stop herself from shouting!

"Niiikyyy!" Only to realize a second later what she just did. "W-what did I just did?" She cheered for a guy on stage. She cheered for Nicky, the shy and pansy one with the red scarf. "God! What is happening to me?!" She looked at her own hands in increasing horror.

Franziska bailed from her seat and ran into the bathroom where she splashed herself with water from the sink. "You gotta get a hold of yourself." She looked into the mirror. "This means nothing. It was a strange reaction to all the foolishness that surrounds me that's all!" Then she took a deep breath. "It is not like you actually wanted to screamed and cheer for a guy named…" Franziksa trailed off for a second when from the corner of her eye she was a poster with a certain face on it.

"Nicky…" She sighed dreamily only for her to slap herself. "God, What is wrong with you?!" She asked angrily at her reflection. "I-I need to get out of here!"

But she couldn't. She had to chaperone Emma and her two friends. If not, the chief prosecutor would have her head in a platter. "You need to relax and remember who you are!" She looked at her reflection's eyes. "You are Franziska von Karma! You are above foolish things like this!"

Just as she was pep talking to herself, a bunch of girls entered the bathroom talking to each other. "Polly is too young for my taste!" One of them said. "Nicky is the best, he is so~ cute!"

"Cute? Cute?!" Franziska repeated while she turned away from her reflection in the mirror. "He is the reason why faces were invented! You Fool!" Once she realized what she said out loud, Franziska bolted from the bathroom and back to the concert where Emma was.

"Emma! Emma! I need to speak to you!" Franziska desperately tugged on the girl's sleeve. She could feel herself losing her mind to whatever mind control scheme this band was implementing on her.

"Franny? I though you left!" With the way she had run out, it was understandable. "Whatever it is wait just a second. It is time for Nicky's solo song.

Up in the stage, Nicky took front and center while the rest of the turnabouts stayed behind and provided the background singing to accentuate Nicky's solo song.

_I saw you last night at the cherry tree._

_I knew right then it was meant to be~~._

_I gotta spell out what you mean to me~~._

_Cause I want you to hea~~~r, My crying plead._

_You got a spell on (I got a spell on…)_

_You got a spell placed on me._

Franziska just stood and let the lyrics of the ballad wash over her and felt how the emotion behind them, were passing through her. She was so captivated by the song that she wanted to be that girl under the cherry tree.

After the song came to an end, Emma finally turned around to look at the prosecutor. "So what is it that you wanted to say?"

Franziska stood there for a whole second before she snapped out of her trance and said the first thing on her mind. "Tell me more about Nicky!"

"Why? I thought in the car you said…"

"I know what I said just tell me!" Franziska insisted. It was clear that this band had some kind of brain washing effect on the female mind so she was going to get to the bottom of it and Nicky was obviously in the center of it. That's why she wanted to know stuff about him and no other reason whatsoever.

"Well, he is the shy one and likes poetry…"Emma began but was interrupted by Franziska.

"Yes, yes, yes, I know that already. Tell me something more! What's his favorite color? Why does he wear a scarf all the time? Does he like dogs? I can get a dog too. I just tell me!"

"Wow. Franny…" Emma was surprised by the way her chaperone was acting. "You LIKE-LIKE Nicky!"

"What?! Don't be a fool! You are talking nonsense!" Franziska retorted back faking innocence. "As if I would ever like a foolish fool like that! I mean… it's not like he would like me back. Or would he? What kind of girls does he like? Tell me!" Franziska pleaded while grabbing Emma by the neck of her blouse. Then she let go when she realize what was coming from her mouth. "Oh my god! I'm sick! I'm really sick! Get me to a doctor so they can extract this infection!"

"Franny calm down!" Emma said as she placed her hands on the prosecutor's shoulders. "You act like you have never had a crush in your life before."

"A crush? That's what this horrible feeling is called?" Franziska repeated anxiously. It was now clear to Emma that the poor prosecutor never really had a crush before in her 18 years of life.

"Look Franny. I help you go through this." It wouldn't be the first time she would try to help someone go through 'Turnabout fever'. "Just tell me what you like about Nicky!" Then she could have some sort of idea where to start.

"I don't know. Nothing. Everything! I have no idea…" Franziska was really distraught by the whole situation.

"Do you like his hair?" Emma really needed to start with something if she wanted to help Franny through this.

"You mean those luscious locks that I wish I could pass my finger through in a hot summer night? No! Not really…" It not like she ever cared about a guy's look ever in her life.

"What about his face? Do you like his face?" Emma continued with her 'questioning'.

"I don't know. I just want to go up there and be face to face with him so I could….so I could slap him! Yes I want to slap that fool's face!" Franziska answered with a glint in her eye that could only spell trouble.

"Huh…You meant kiss, right?"

"No, I mean slap that foolish face real hard!"

"Wow. You got it real bad, Franny."


End file.
